Null-Magic Pegasus

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Meet the Doc
Chapter 2 - Silver's Rescue
Chapter 3 - Fallout
Chapter 4 - Clipper's Story
Chapter 5 - Sterling
Chapter 6 - Advice
Chapter 7 - Memories

Chapter 1 - Meet the Doc

"I apologize for the wait. Normally the doctors are very punctual," the receptionist softly stated over a curved redwood desk, her magenta eyes darting between the two ponies in the room. Her voice felt like soft, frayed velvet to the ears of the young filly on the couch.

Yeah, good comparison, the small silver pegasus internally chided as she nodded to the purple mare, noting the tall, noble-esque purple and pink mane. Maybe next time you could compare a voice to being flattened by a steamroller.

--No... Wait... I've done that. The filly smiled inwardly, holding her bored expression on the outside. Being a member of the Silver family she was conditioned to separate internal emotion from external expression. That made it harder for anypony to "read" the Silvers.

The filly's eyes wandered about lazily, landing on her hooves and eyeing the feathering around them. The thin hairs were neat and trimmed, flowing from just above her fetlocks to the base of her horseshoes. While feathering was rare within her family, Silver had been taught to trim it every day to avoid picking up mud and dirt as she walked. It was one of the few things Silver couldn't change about herself... not that she'd tried very hard to.

Faint silver-blue strands of mane fell over the filly's eyes as she was looking over her feathering so she tried puffing at them to move the strands, but could not get them to move. Silver's mane was a faint blue, complimented by another blue that was just two shades darker. Most ponies couldn't discern the faint coloring of her mane from her coat, so they mistook her as a pure silver-grey pony. The filly kept trying to quietly move her mane, but eventually gave up and let it be. Usually her mane was not this difficult to manage, reaching halfway down her neck in the back and just long enough to cover her eyes in the front. The bangs were normally swept up behind her left ear and stayed there, but the rainy weather that day had made the entire mass rebellious. Admitting defeat only to herself the filly looked around the small square room she occupied, trying her best to ignore the fidgeting brown stallion across from her.

The waiting room for the clinic matched the size of Silver's apartment, with enough room to seat a dozen ponies comfortably, not including the receptionist. Modern art adorned the walls, swirling in vibrant pastel colors that had no apparent pattern. The furniture was all built of redwood, like most aspects of the clinic's unique decor, and was complimented with white cushions for ponies to rest and wait. Silver had taken the couch to the left of the royal oak entrance doors, furthest from the receptionist's desk. Another set of doors leading to the rest of the clinic sat across the small square room, mirroring their partners perfectly. The receptionist's convex redwood desk was inset into the wall on the far side of them, its slight curve the only intrusion into the waiting room's rectangular shape.

Silver caught the receptionist quickly looking down at her desk again, shuffling papers with her hooves in an effort to appear busy. The filly knew better though, as the receptionist wasn't the first to be curious about her eyes. Most ponies weren't used to seeing silver-grey irises on ponies; not naturally, anyway. Silver hid a smile, picturing what the mare would do if she saw Silver's true eyes, which were, as her sister had once said, "pools of liquid mercury reflecting the light of a silver cloud." Without the contacts Silver had in, many ponies immediately assumed she was blind and usually steered clear of the filly.

The clinic, like many in the large cities of Equestria, was very well-funded, evidenced by the Celestia Era mural that adorned its domed ceiling, surrounded by pure white squinches to support it. The mural depicted Celestia herself standing upon a blue and green orb, representing Equestria, with the sun and moon above her spread wings and the stars twinkling in the dark sky around her. Earth ponies stood at the monarch's hooves while a golden band denoted the edge of the dome, carved pegasi and unicorns encircling the magnificent work. Silver imagined that the mural was going to be changed sometime soon, given Princess Luna's return within the past year and the events since.

The ceiling was the first thing that Silver had noticed upon entering the clinic, the golden band catching her eye. The second was of Princess Celestia's cutie mark upon the otherwise pristine white carpet, stretching from one side of the small room to the other. If only she could do some redecorating with some fire then a coat of paint, the filly could learn to like the place. Sadly Silver could not share these thoughts with anypony else; apparently normal ponies didn't really think that way.

"I hope she gets here soon," the stallion muttered, breaking into Silver's thoughts. She glanced over in time to see him run his hoof through his short, gray mane. The stallion had been there since Silver arrived, but she was trying her best to ignore him. It wasn't working.

"As do I," the receptionist replied. Silver noted a subtle tone of fear and apprehension in the response, but only the filly noticed. Silver also knew the receptionist had nothing to worry about. The earth stallion was obviously strong, but he wasn't trained. Not like Silver. And she had at least a quarter-second reaction time on him in her relaxed state; more than enough to avoid anything he tried.

"I wonder what's keeping them," Silver asked the floor. This was her first visit to a psychologist since she had left home abruptly and already it wasn't going well.

The doctor was already thirty minutes late for their scheduled appointment. Add on top of that this stallion whose constant muttering and obvious addiction to some substance or another made it difficult for the filly to remain passive. She could catch every word along with every heartbeat from that stallion, no matter how hard she tried to block them out. Silver could feel her patience waning, though not quite enough to be irritated.

After a few more minutes of mumbling to himself about needing this or that, Silver really didn't care, the stallion got up and almost ran the small length of the room to the receptionist's desk, firmly planting his forehooves on it. Silver's ears perked as her body's muscles tensed. Battle reflexes, second nature for the filly of a war-buff father.

"Look, maybe you can help me here. I really need my prescription. Like now. I'm feeling myself slip away, I need those meds, man! I need them!" The stallion slammed his hoof on the desk.

The receptionist leaned away from the stallion, just out of reach of his forelegs. "I am sorry but I cannot prescribe or distribute any medications. Only your doctor can do that, and she assured me she wanted to evaluate your progress first," the purple pony stated plainly. She hid her concern well, Silver gave her props for that, but her posture literally screamed 'Crazy pony is totally going to attack me!'

Wow, Silver, talking about simplifying things, Silver thought to herself with a smile as she slid off the couch, moving silently along the wall next to the desk. The stallion didn't notice either detail.

"Don't lie to me. I know you can give me the prescription. Just hand it over and you can tell Doctor Foxxe I am fine."

Well that's obvious, right? He's totally fine and yet he's in a cold sweat, I can literally hear his bones rattling, and his heartbeat has jumped by at least forty beats per minute. Totally fine, right? Silver mused in her head, silently standing beside the brown stallion. He hadn't noticed the filly's move, and that worked just fine.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I can't do that," the receptionist said more sternly, still leaning away from the pony in front of her.

This is where the brown stallion in front of Silver finally lost it, letting out two yells in quick succession, one of rage as he started to reach for the receptionist over the desk followed by one of surprise as Silver bucked him against the wall before his hooves moved an inch.

"Tranquilizers, now," Silver firmly said as the stallion got back up, holding his head in one hoof. The receptionist nodded immediately, disappearing quickly.

Despite having just bucked a pony over half again her weight, and him now being a complete ball of unstable and uncontrolled rage, Silver was remarkably calm. She had made the first move, and now the rest was this stallion's. Silver already knew he was going to do something stupid, assuming he didn't waste the moment.

"Why you rotten little runt," the stallion screamed at Silver, who was sitting on her haunches, appearing totally relaxed on the surface. Underneath, her well-trained muscles were prepared for anything this stallion might try.

"Yeah, I haven't heard that one before," Silver retorted, rolling her eyes as she counted the seconds it took for the receptionist to get the sedative. "Can we just save the short jokes, please? I'm not in the mood." The stallion huffed, his brown, bloodshot eyes glaring at Silver with a powerful rage. The filly returned the glare with a bored expression. She really, really wanted this guy to try something fast.

"You're not in the mood?" He asked in a low, angry voice. "YOU'RE NOT IN THE MOOD?!" That time it was loud enough to make Silver's sensitive ears twitch.

The filly tilted her head down and shook it, hiding the smile she had from knowing she'd gotten to him. His attention was devoted solely to her.

Perfect.

The stallion took a step forward, then dropped to the floor as he passed out. Silver watched as his head fell the small distance to the carpet and his eyes close, a dumb grin on his face from being dosed with a powerful sedative. Above his rump a syringe floated in a bright pink aura. Ah, so she's a unicorn, Silver thought to herself. Her horn must be under the ridiculous mane.

"Are you alright?" the receptionist asked over the desk, eyeing the filly for any apparent injuries. Silver noticed how her gaze lingered on the filly’s eyes for a second longer than she should have.

Silver nodded, deciding to stay polite rather than asking 'What took you so long?! Was the bathroom occupied or something?'. In her mind Silver knew the receptionist had done nothing wrong, but even so she was still ready and searching for a fight. Taking a deep, quiet breath the pegasus managed to restrain herself, letting her body relax while her outward demeanor remained polite and friendly.

"I am terribly--" The receptionist began to apologize, but stopped when Silver raised her hoof.

"It's no problem," the silver pony said quietly, "I got myself involved." And with that, Silver cantered over to the white couch again and hopped onto it, laying her forelegs off the edge and her head on top of them once again.

A couple minutes later a pair of white unicorn stallions in matching white coats came in and magically levitated the unconscious brown stallion away, leaving Silver to finally enjoy the peace of the waiting room. She closed her eyes and let her mind fade, only listening to the sounds around her. Silver heard the receptionist magically typing on her keys, the clicking erratic as well as rapid. A phonograph playing from within the clinic reached the filly's ears, a sense of rhythm coming with it, but it was muffled by the walls and the distance. The light pitter-patter of the rain outside began once again, accompanied by hooves splashing as ponies moved quickly to find shelter from the fresh sprinkle.

The ticking of the clock behind the receptionist's desk slowly filled Silver's mind, its sound repetitive, consistent and predictable. Slowly, the other noises of the room began to fade as her mind focused in on the ticking, finally able to drift into the small void in her mind reserved for the deepest of thoughts. Stories were buried around it, and as she arrived began taking shape within that empty space. The worlds she'd read about as a filly formed around her, blending into one another almost seamlessly. The filly remembered the stories of tiny creatures gathering pollen for their home. The mighty knights of old, before the peace of Equestria, fighting for lovely maidens and their honor against the evils of distant lands. Silver felt herself begin to smile as she wandered the worlds within her mind, filling her own ideas into where the stories had felt empty.

A loud bang from the front doors jolted Silver from her trance, her entire body moving in one massive twitch that nearly threw the filly onto the floor. Her eyes sprang open, turning quickly to the now-open door that led to the outside. Silver forced herself to relax as she watched two ponies walk into the room, chatting quietly with one another.

The mare was a brilliant orange, the kind one would see on a prairie fox. Her deep red mane curled up in front and flowed down her back, ending in thin strands on her shoulder. Her tail matched in color and was almost twice as long. Her cutie mark was of a baby fox curled around a small, empty syringe. This mare should've been a vet if her cutie mark was the only thing to go by. She was very tidy and clean, not to mention dry; something Silver could admire considering the damp weather outside. The mare's amber eyes did not stray from her coworker as he held the door open for her.

The stallion was another story. He was impressive, sporting a flame-red coat that was damp from the rain outside, making it seem a shade darker than it was. Muscles were evident underneath the surface as he bowed respectfully to the mare before him. His dark blue mane was drenched, though being short it held no shape upon his head to begin with. His cutie mark was a chaise in the same color scheme as its bearer: a deep blue cushion sitting upon a sturdy redwood frame. When the stallion opened his eyes from the small bow he'd given his fellow doctor, Silver was slightly taken aback by how vibrant his sapphire blue eyes were. They seemed to glow from within, emanating a warm, safe feeling. It wasn't something Silver was used to seeing in sapphire eyes that vibrant.

"Thank you, Doc. My mane appreciates your walking me to work," the mare said in a light, cheerful tone. Silver could compare it to silk or velvet (again), being smooth to even her overly-sensitive ears. "I owe you one," the mare added with a sly wink.

The stallion merely smiled as he stepped into the small waiting room from the light rain outside, letting the door close behind him as he did so. He spoke in a strong but soft voice, the kind that sent young fillies to sleep with nothing but sugar cubes in their dreams. Silver could feel her mind drifting as he spoke, and had to force herself back to reality. "Any time Doctor Foxxe, I am always happy to help out a friend." The stallion glanced around the room before continuing on a less soothing note. "Though I think you might need more than just me to find your patient."

The mare, 'Foxxe', looked around as well, her eyes catching the pony on the couch for a split second before turning back to her coworker. "Oh, dear. He's probably sedated in the back. I do apologize, but I must tend to him. I hope we can talk after work, Doc?"

"Certainly," the stallion named Doc, replied. "Go see to your patient."

The mare ran off quickly, her red tail disappearing through the door to the rest of the clinic. Silver suppressed a minor spike of anger towards her. Despite being a unicorn, the receptionist probably couldn't have handled the obvious addict; especially not with him being that out of control. The fact that Foxxe decided to be late just for a stallion and risking not only her receptionist but any other patient that could have been in the waiting room didn't score any points with Silver.

"Great mare, sadly she can't take a small hint," Doc said quietly into Silver's ear. The filly kept her composure despite the soothing voice, its effects losing potency with every word.

"You weren't giving her any hint, you know," Silver replied in a low voice.

"Well pardon me for being polite. You must be Quick Silver."

The filly visibly flinched at the use of her full name. "Silver is fine," the filly stated.

"Alright," Doc said with a small nod, "I'm Doc. A pleasure to meet you, Silver." The filly nodded in reply. "Shall we get started, then? My office is in the back."

The silver filly slid off the couch again as Doc walked towards the door that led to the rest of the clinic. Silver noted the receptionist's typewriting falter a little as Doc passed, like she just realized he was there. The filly didn't give it another thought, though, given that the purple unicorn had been busy typing the entire time.

The hallway beyond reminded Silver of those that a hospital would usually have: White tile flooring, blank white walls, and matching doors spaced perfectly apart from one another. The ceiling was the most exciting part, playing host to a single blue line that ran down the center of its length. A light was inset into the ceiling along this line every few hoof-lengths to keep the hallway brightly lit. Silver was glad that the lights in the clinic were electrical; opposed to the firefly alternative most of the city still ferociously clung to.

"I'm assuming your parents are coming, or have at least been informed," Doc said over his shoulder.

"No, no, and I would prefer they not find out I'm here. Or anywhere, for that matter," Silver replied coolly. She could hear the cold hatred in her own voice as her mind turned towards them. The mere thought of what they meant to her filled the filly with an anger that no other pony could get out of her. "I'm only a few more months away from freedom. I'm not about to give that up."

"You know, legally--"

Silver wasn't about to hear it. She jumped over the stallion, giving her wings a quick beat before landing in front of Doc, her gaze as steely cold as the filly could muster. "I. Don't. Care." Silver stated, emphasizing each word. She was ready to buck the unimpressed psychologist straight through a wall, which would be extremely satisfying, and easy, for the young filly.

Immediately realizing what she was doing, the filly closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to reign in her uncultured side before it was fully released. Silver didn't feel any regret about her outburst. If anything it would hammer home the point that she wasn't about to let her parents find her, even at the risk of running from yet another city. Even at the risk of losing almost everything she'd gained.

Silver took in a second breath, forcing herself to remember what she would really be losing, realizing that it wasn't worth the risk. Before she'd come to Manehattan running had been easy. She didn't need material objects and bits weren't exactly plentiful for her so they were easy to move around. But now she had something more to lose, and that got Silver thinking about whether she could leave again if she had to. The filly had no idea whether running or staying scared her more.

Silver took in a third breath, letting the calm and quiet of the clinic fill her mind, driving out her speeding thoughts. She forced her body to relax by folding her wings, feeling the expected stinging from her wing tips. She sat on her haunches, opening her eyes a bit to look at the floor. "Sorry," Silver said in a small whisper, "things have been..." The filly tried to find the right words to explain the past two years.

"It's alright. I'm guessing an earth pony?"

"Unicorns," Silver replied simply, knowing Doc was referring to her parents.

"Both of them?" Not an iota of surprise from the stallion.

A small nod from the filly as she backed against one of the side walls, giving Doc room to pass. He didn't move a step; instead he kept his focus on Silver, his eyes showing a mix of understanding and tenacity. The small filly realized Doc wasn't going to let this go. Not just yet.

"If it helps, I understand. My father was a unicorn as well. We didn't have the best of relationships, either. Look, if your parents by some chance ask me about you, I have to tell them or I risk losing my license. But unless they can prove without a doubt they're your parents I can promise you anything you say here will be kept in confidence."

Silver nodded, feeling a little ashamed about her outburst now. "I understand," the filly whispered, "I'm sorry."

The corner of Doc's mouth slid into a half-smile. "Quite alright," he said, "but I must admit you have quite a bit of control over your temper. Especially for a pegasus."

Silver's turn to smile, albeit weakly, as she looked at Doc once again. Even as she sat, he was still a good half a hoof taller than her, though the filly had gotten used to it. "Thank you, though it isn't enough. I still can't-- Wait, what do you mean by 'especially for a pegasus'?" Silver raised her hoof, pointing at the psychologist in front of her as she was processing what he'd actually said.

"Pegasi are a warrior race, you're more prone to outbursts than any other," Doc replied simply. After a moment he added, "Obvious that's a very generalized statement, but we have to know these things."

Silver shook her head, half-smiling at the Doc. She knew he was right, but it was kind of nice to find somepony in Equestria actually had the guts to say it out loud then stand behind his words. That scored a few points there, which brought Doc up to "somewhat-likable" status.

"Perhaps we can discuss this in my office, and out of the middle of the clinic's hallway," Doc said with a small smile. "I don't think the nurses would be overly happy if we had our session out here. It's just down there," he said with a slight nod down the way, indicating the dark red door at the end of the clinic's brightly lit hallway. "Not too far, right?"

Silver looked down the hallway again, seeing the door standing there and decided it was best to save her thoughts for the chaise. The filly began walking down the hallway again, Doc right beside her, keeping pace. She had so many thoughts swimming through her head. What was she going to tell him? What was she not going to tell him? Should anything in one category be moved to the other? So much had happened the past two years that Silver decided not to drag Doc through all of it. She'd just share the last couple of days, and almost everything associated. Some things had to be left out, though.

Doc pressed down on the brass handle of the redwood door and pushed it open, moving aside to let the pegasus through first. Silver nodded in thanks as she took the offer, sliding past him with her mind finally made up.

The office beyond was about what Silver had expected. It was small yet cozy. The window across from the door took up a majority of its wall, giving the room a more open feeling and a good view over the city of Manehatten. The other walls were covered by books along shelves, unseen behind the dark red and black bindings. Despite the darker colors, Silver couldn't help but feel slightly elated at the sight of them.

In front of the window across from Silver sat a well-polished redwood desk, glistening in the faint rays of morning sun that broke through the gloomy cover of gray in the sky. In the middle of the room sat a beautiful redwood coffee table, its legs carved with intricate patterns that Silver couldn't quite make out. The top was as smooth as glass, and reflected the white ceiling like a mirror.

On one side of the coffee table, a few hooves between itself and its neighbor bookcase, was the classic chaise. This one looked just like Doc's cutie mark, its legs and frame built of redwood. The deep blue cushions were flawless, and seemed to be made of silk to allow the patient ample comfort. The carvings that Silver could see on the legs seemed to tell stories of ponies wielding strange objects; swords according to her father's books, and faced off against dragons and other ponies. Where and how Doc could have gotten the chaise, Silver wasn't sure, but the stories upon it were definitely not Equestrian.

Across the coffee table, sitting at a slight angle towards both the window and the chaise, was the traditional, over-elegant psychiatrist's chair. This one complemented the chaise splendidly with its soft, pristine blue-silk cushions and the deep, redwood frame. The chair did not appear to have any carvings on it anywhere, so it was not quite a perfect match to its partner.

The filly took a step into the room, still admiring the bookcases around her and was surprised to find a plush carpet beneath her hooves. She looked down at its small form beneath her hooves, not much bigger than a doormat. The gentle fibers brushing at her hooves felt different from the tile floor: warm and inviting. The same could be said of the design, lines of reds and yellows, all diving their way down the woven hole in the center, disappearing into a small black void.

"I wouldn't stare into that," Doc stated from behind Silver, "I've had patients completely lose themselves in there. Most came back, though." The filly turned her head to the side, a look of query asking the question for her. "If they're prepared, this carpet can be very helpful. Unprepared, however, and more drastic measures may be needed. Rewards outweighing risks, so to speak. Also really useful for the less stable ones," he added under his breath, thinking Silver wouldn't hear. She had to suppress a smile as she looked into the center of the carpet one last time.

Silver walked over to the chaise, her eyes looking over the carvings on the legs and wooden frame. The scenes depicted seemed to be of two different stories, one starting from the left side and one from the right, both reading towards the center of the chaise. The pony of the left wielded blades strapped to their hooves, not swords as the filly had first thought, against a large creature, similar to a Scylla, if Silver's memory was accurate, but with only one head instead of multiple. The other pony was more interesting, however, as it seemed to be a hooded figure wielding a farmer's scythe. It held the scythe across its front, standing on its back hooves and facing what appeared to be a dragon, only it seemed more like a decayed corpse than a real threat. The two stories depicted scenes from their respective battles, with both ending with the enemies of the ponies standing back-to-back in the center and the ponies staring their foes down from either side. Something seemed odd about the pony with the blades, however; like Silver knew her. Somehow.

"I hope it's comfortable enough for you. I recently had it restored, and after my last trip a cardboard box would seem comfortable," Doc said from his own chair, pulling a pad and pen from beneath the cushion.

Silver climbed onto the chaise, being careful to keep her hooves off the edge as she lay on it. "It's wonderful," the filly said as she laid her head onto the cushions above, closing her eyes and enjoying the softest seat she'd been in for over two years. Silver expected the stallion to press a little for her story, but he seemed to be waiting patiently for her to settle in. Another point in this guy's favor, she thought to herself. Maybe this won't be so bad.

Opening her eyes, Silver looked out the window over the city, admiring the buildings as she started. At first she began like any other story, setting up the scene and her background, but it slowly became a rambling; she just began sharing her thoughts as her mind sank deeper into memory, getting lost in the dark corners of her mind. Eventually she lost herself in those small areas, buried behind the secrets within and just rambling away.

Chapter 2 - Silver's Rescue

It had been a quarter hour, and this pegasus was still setting up her story. Doc found it a little frustrating, but decided to let her go on. She was a lot more stable than his colleague had warned him about, but he didn't want to push her out of whatever frame of mind that made her so stable, and agreeable.

So far, the Doc had gotten the gist of it, so he tried letting it play out in his own mind as the mare had described it.

It was Saturday night, busiest night of the week for Spectrum Mane and definitely the biggest money maker for the owner. The club interior was shaped as a circle, despite the mostly square building that housed it. The front doors curved out and onto the street, making it seem like the club was trying to bust out of the box it was placed in. The owner had once tried that very theme, but it went over badly as the cheap contractor didn't make the facade properly. There were still two lawsuits left to go through. The windows on the doors were one-way glass specifically designed to keep the outsiders from looking in but everypony inside could see those in line.

The club wasn't the fanciest around, but it wasn't the worst off, either. It was well known to ponies in Manehatten as a great place to party and have fun and possibly stay the night if necessary in one of the several guest rooms the club had in the building above.

The pony standing behind the turntables could hear the bass from the main speakers even through her headphones, which slightly threw her off as they were supposedly noise canceling. What do I expect from somepony who doesn't test their stuff thoroughly? the amateur DJ thought to herself. She wasn't a skilled DJ, but the ponies partying below didn't seem to care. They were still having a good time, though Silver chalked it up to the drinks they were serving rather than the mid-level stuff she'd made. She wasn't bad, Silver knew that just from the lack of an angry mob on the crescent-moon dance floor below, but she wasn't anywhere near the best. Thus the lack of good headphones and pay, Silver thought to herself.

She wasn't in too good a mood tonight, thus the reason she was wearing her DJ Pon-3 knock-off shades instead of the contacts she normally wore. While the contacts were great for when she was calm, the enchantment her sister put on them to make them work also kept her in check when she wasn't in complete control, like that night. The funny part was that no pony seemed to care that she totally stole the look of DJ Pon-3 or that the shades were actually a bright baby blue instead of deep purple.

The origin of the shades wasn't totally horrible, though. She'd met the famous DJ in one of her first school field trips. Several schools were taking field trips to Canterlot at the time to tour the city. Some lucky ponies, Silver and the filly-sized DJ of that time included, were given a special tour of the Royal Palace itself. Silver had noticed the DJ's shades and had inquired where she got them, which the filly happily filled her in on. The shades had hid her eyes perfectly, something Silver desperately wanted at that time. Maybe with those shades ponies would lighten up on teasing her.

The shades had stayed with her ever since. They were her prized possession as they not only signified the time she met the now-famous DJ but they also bookmarked a new chapter of her life: Silver's confident years. She also used them to promote DJ Pon-3 whenever any pony inquired about them. It was the least she could do even after all these years.

The pop of the custom-made vinyl brought Silver out of her reminiscing in time to switch the records quickly with yet another of her custom-made ones. She'd figured a good, low-frequency pop would do wonders for predicting the end of a record, and it had worked for a while. But it wasn't until she inverted the pop accidentally on a record that it turned out to be perfect for her as the supersonic sound seemed more inclined to reach her ears and not the party-goers'.

It was on this change, though, when something caught the pegasus' attention: a mare running by the bouncer at the door. Silver had noticed because she looked terribly out of place in this part of the city and Check, the bouncer at the right door, hadn't even flinched. Either he's asleep again or that's somepony important among the clubs, Silver thought to herself as the mare pushed her way through. Her head kept twitching at each bass note, which confirmed Silver's original thought of her not really belonging here. But it wasn't long until she found out why she was in the club: four large colts had slipped between Check and Deck (no relation) and were standing inside the doorway, the one in front looking rather angry about something.

It was when the colt caught eye of the mare who was half-way to the stage and started charging that Silver decided to interject. The only question then was how to do it without getting anypony else hurt or lose funding for the club. So, she took plan B. Not the best of plans, but it'd work out. Silver had a trick to use, a particular new talent that Silver had been coaching for a while. She wasn't at the level of someone like DJ Pon-3, but she did have the potential to reach it.

"Well, everypony, it's been a great night!" Silver shouted over the crowd. A lot more ponies turned to look at her than she'd planned. I just hope I don't get both of us thrown out, Silver thought to herself as the remaining ponies continued dancing to the still-playing record.

"But I made a promise to a rising talent and I think she'd be better starting someplace with the nicest group of ponies I've met!" Silver wasn't lying, either. Spectrum Mane was actually the nicest club in terms of patrons. She'd made a lot of mistakes when she was starting, and the response in a lot of clubs, excluding Spectrum, was the prompt removal of the offending DJ and her records.

A pale yellow unicorn walked up the stage-left stairs at her cue, her long, curled pink mane swaying slightly with each step. Silver turned to her and smiled, motioning her to come up and introduce herself. She complied, though obviously nervous. They'd agreed that Sound Stream would one day soon wrap up one of Silver's sets, and Silver had completely planned to surprise her when she did. It worked out perfectly, if a bit sooner than Silver's liking.

"Hey, everypony," the unicorn said in a shaky voice. The crowd just watched.

It wasn't until Silver heard her custom pop on the record that she nudged the unicorn with her hoof."Records, go, now."

The unicorn forced a nervous laugh before turning to the tables and levitating her own record on. The second the arm hit, however, the room went back to dancing, completely forgetting the DJ's had changed. Silver took the opportunity to wish the new talent good luck before dashing down the left stairway, the way the mare from earlier had gone. She got through the staff-only door to the back just in time to see the four colts dash out the opposite end.

This was Silver's least favorite part about these situations: chasing. It was always exciting, true, but it just didn't appeal to Silver too much. But she persisted and ran down the hallway, ignoring the ponies waving at her as she whisked by.

Silver wanted to catch them in the club, not on the street. At least in the club she could hold them and maybe, just maybe, avoid a fight. At least the club security made a good deterrent to it, but outside in the street there was little deterrent. Especially if she runs down the wrong alley.

The pegasus burst out the back of the club into a narrow alleyway. Two dumpsters and a bag of garbage were the only features that the pegasus noticed before she closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her.

She could hear carts being pulled by ponies in the wide street 80 feet to her right. The street was wide enough to host five carriages side-to-side, though only two lanes of traffic existed. Many, many pedestrians were walking the sidewalk on the street, each talking and walking loudly. But it was the lightning bugs in the lamps that really bugged Silver. I wish those were solar, I really do, Silver thought to herself as she put her whole mind to sifting through all the sounds.

Mother with a crying baby walking down the sidewalks towards the apartments. That's not it.

Carriages moving quickly up and down the street, some pulling over to let passengers out. Filter that out.

Three teens planning a prank on some unsuspecting filly in the club next door. Nope.

Random ponies exclaiming as another pony ran by, out of breath, hard hoofsteps on pavement. Bingo.

She honed in on the ponies and took off towards the street. Way too fast, way too soon as a carriage suddenly stopped right in front of the alleyway. A shot of adrenaline took Silver over as she barreled towards the offending transportation. The only thoughts through her head were Cart cart cart cart cart!!! as she pumped her wings once and jumped. She sailed through the air, hoping the carriage had no glass in the windows, and pulled her wings in tight, trying to minimize her already small physique. That hope proved fruitful as she seemed to soar slowly through the carriage, the occupants staring as she passed. Silver landed on the other side and her reflexes began working overtime, proving why she deserved the name Quick Silver.

A carriage from the right came at her and she expertly dodged it, narrowly missing the carriage passing by going the other direction, pulling a few hairs from her mane as it passed. Once she had enough wing space, though, she jumped on top of the carriages and began carriage-hopping down the street before reaching the corner she wanted.

"Woah, wait a minute." Doc had to interrupt here. "You jumped through a carriage, dodged two more in the time frame of about six seconds with minimal space between and then decided to jump on top of them?"

Silver looked at him perplexed. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, it sort of defies what a pony can normally do, even a pegasus." Doc put a fine point on the end of his statement.

Silver shook her head before pointing at her cutie mark. "Doc, my special talent is dodging. Technically, it's moving really fast and fluidly, but it's mostly triggered by reflexes. Thus dodging."

Doc looked at the cutie mark for a second. It looked like 3 drops of liquid mercury, each one doubling the size of the last as they approached her tail in their zig-zag style. "Still amazing," was all Doc could say.

"Could I please continue?" Silver asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Doc could only nod and returned to the scene playing out in his head, guided by the pegasus's story.

Silver had been following the unique sounds of the mare's hoofsteps as she'd been running. It was easy to pick out after she'd taken a third turn and started heading towards the dead end of town. The section of the city ponies avoided at night, as was evidenced by a lack of any other ponies. And no more street lamps, thank Celestia, Silver thought to herself. Trying to siphon anything from the constant buzz was really difficult, especially for Silver.

Wait, where's the sound? Silver thought as she realized the hoofsteps had also stopped. Her answer came in the form of a very faint, but very clear, cackle. The colts had caught her in an alleyway. Oh, come on! You were doing so well!

Silver followed the cackling to the middle of the street. The buildings loomed around her like sleeping brick golems, totally black and lifeless. Golems is a nice comparison for SQUARES, Silver chastised herself as she jumped at the entrance to the alleyway. She bounced off the wall in front of her and landed with a metallic clang on the dumpster she had not been expecting. Pain shot through her hooves, but she still stayed upright, and her wits kept about her.

The alleyway was, as usual, filled with garbage bags and the two dumpsters that serviced the businesses on either side. Two doors stood towards the end of the alleyway, both were originally black but age had faded them. Above the left door hung a small lamp, this one (thank Celestia) was electric, and somepony had apparently forgotten to turn it off. The red bricks of the walls were in good condition but still showed their age beneath the peeling dark red paint. The ground was mostly loose cobblestone, really good for holding one's ground and digging in. The stairs leading to each door numbered three for each side, and could prove a small issue if this fight got overly mobile.

The scene within this alleyway, however, caused Silver a mix of relief and urgency. The mare from before had found herself in front of a brick wall. The doors on either side of her must've been locked if she was still in here. Her amethyst eyes held a fear that the rest of her body didn't hold. She had her head low, ready to fight the four colts in front of her. She's either really courageous, or really out of her mind, Silver thought to herself.

The unicorn was big, obviously very strong and had the color of mocha. His black mane sort of didn't match, though, which Silver found odd. Then it wasn't as she noticed the other three earth ponies making up the unicorn's posse were all the same coat and mane color. They must have been at a party or dyed themselves before the night started. Maybe for this moment, maybe just to have fun and ran into this mare. Silver didn't care, she wanted to make this as simple as possible and figure out details later.

All four of the colts turned to look at Silver the second she'd landed earlier than intended. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" Silver tried to sound like just some passerby. Okay, improvise, delay, and try to avoid a fight, Silver thought to herself, having no actual plan beyond catching up to these ponies. And if they want a fight, show them why you don't mess with a Silver. This thought put the smile on Silver's face that she needed to add to her act.

"None of your business, filly. Just walk away," The unicorn responded in his best threatening tone. If looks could kill, Silver would've died a few times. But that'd take magic to do, and Silver wasn't worried about it.

"You alright over there?" Silver asked the shaking mare. Silver decided to take in the mare's appearance as well in case she managed to duck out during the fray. She was a light grey earth pony with a black mane. A single pink bowtie adorned her neck, which intrigued Silver. She tried to hide the fear she had, but Silver wasn't fooled. The mare knew she was outmatched and assumed Silver was, too.

"Not sure how you'd help," the mare responded through clenched teeth.

High society. No wonder you didn't fit in, Silver thought.

"Watch out!"

The mare's voice pierced the silence but it was too late. The pony closest to Silver had tried to grab her from the dumpster, but her reflexes acted quicker. Silver had already jumped above her would-be captor and pulled a front flip, leaving the stunned colt draped on the dumpster she'd been on earlier. She landed with a thud on the cobblestone ground, looking at the unicorn leader. A faint crack behind her and the lack of a baby-blue hue over the world told Silver that her shades had fallen off during the flip and had broken a lens.

The other three colts stood staring at the pegasus's unique eyes. Pure silver stared back at them, a fountain of rage slowly welling up within the pony whom they belonged to. "Those. Were. My. Best. Shades." Silver punctuated each word with venom as she lowered her head and allowed the rage to bubble to the surface. "I was going to talk and convince you four to leave," she said, the rage within her reaching the zenith. She'd want that for this. Every drop was going to be either vented into these ponies or the surrounding area. "But instead, I'm going to tell you one thing: back down now."

The unicorn started laughing, though he was the only one. "Or what? You're going to stare us to death with your screwed up eyes?" He suddenly stopped laughing and pointed at the pegasus. "Shorty first."

"'Shorty first'?" Doc couldn't help it. He'd heard ridiculous insults before, but that was just plain unimaginative. True, the pegasus in front of him was smaller than most but she obviously wasn't somepony you'd call 'short' and get away with it.

"It's what he said," Silver replied, shrugging her shoulders, "I can't help what other ponies say. But I can help teach them the errors of their ways." Silver's smile genuinely scared the psychologist. He tried not to show it, but Silver must have caught it anyway because she started laughing, that element of 'homicidal maniac' gone from her in a flash. That wasn't an element Doc particularly liked to see.

"Well, what did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Wait, what?" Doc couldn't help the bewildered look he knew he had.

"It wasn't my move. It was theirs, and the two idiots not still draped on the dumpster in a dumbfounded fashion followed orders."

The two aggressors attempted to flank Silver on both her left and right. They approached quickly, almost cat-like, except for one flaw: Silverwing was a pegasus, not an earth pony.

Silver tensed the muscles in both her wings, waiting for the perfect moment. Waiting as they got closer... and closer... until they were in perfect line across from one another. Silver jumped directly in between the two earth ponies, gaining shocked looks before she released her wings and effectively plowed them into the walls of the alleyway. Pain shot through her wings as the ponies on the ends impacted the brick walls, the vibrations of cracking bones being sent down her tightened muscles. Silver really hoped those weren't hers and she'd just cracked the ribs of the two ponies, but the games were on now.

The unicorn stood stunned as Silver retracted her wings, letting the two ponies fall in the garbage bags directly below. The pony that had tried to grab her before moved forward, faster and more direct than the other two, taking a swing at Silver. She dodged it with ease, practically smiling at the attempt. This ticked off the third colt, causing him to stand up on his hind legs and start swinging wildly. Every swing he made Silver dodged expertly and with perfect precision. She felt his hoof brush her ear as she dodged for the last time. She couldn't keep backing up lest she bring the other mare into this fight. That was unacceptable, this was her fight and she was going to enjoy it.

Silver's last dodge moved her forwards, giving her a perfect chance to nail the offender right below the rib cage, which she promptly did. She held back, though, not wanting any serious damage, with the rest of her blows. Each one landed perfectly as she was taught. One to the right shoulder, one on the left rib cage, centered third rib down. Sidewind into neck then finish spin with sweep of rear legs. It was over quickly, but the pony lying on his back on the ground gave Silver a sense of satisfaction. She was a violent pony, but she never looked for fights. Well, that is to say she never started them. She'd happily end it, though.

The sound of a horn lighting perked Silver's interest as she stared at the unicorn leader she'd almost completely forgotten about. His face looked well focused as he tried to cast a spell, the red aura around his dyed horn backing this theory up.

"Now, my little pony. You're going to dance," he said through a wicked smile.

Her well of rage having drained back to a manageable level, Silver decided to have fun with this unicorn. He obviously was trying to cast the spell on her, but he had no idea who he was messing with. "Absolutely. As soon as you teach me," Silver said with a smile.

This elicited a blank blink from the unicorn before he tried to concentrate harder. Again, backed up by the intensified glow around his horn. "Why. Won't. This. Work?" He barely got out through his intense concentration.

"Well, honestly? No pony knows. But it's not you, it's me," Silver said, sitting on the ground and taking tabs on her wings. She felt a small twinge of pain as she tried moving her wing tips. She'd fractured the bones, putting them out of commission for a while.

The unicorn finally gave up and relented his intense concentration, the aura fading from his horn. But the anger in his eyes only intensified. "Then I'll make you dance myself."

Silver had expected this. Aggressive, blunt, and oblivious to the fact that she'd just taken out three EARTH ponies in hoof-to-hoof. Silver was done with this fight. It wasn't worth it, honestly. And the sound of sirens approaching told her to really wrap this up. The unicorn tried to charge in, his head lowered like a bull with one horn. Silver countered it easily, only needing to spin on the spot, bringing her hind leg to the side of the unicorn's head. He ran straight into the dumpster next to him, the added momentum of Silver's kick impaling his horn into it, knocking the final colt out cold.

"Well, that was disappointing," Silver stated to nopony.

"Wow." the voice from behind Silver made her jump. She'd completely forgotten about the mare behind her. Silver turned around to look at the mare, her reflexes putting her in battle mode again. "Eep" was all the mare could manage before she froze. Silver closed her eyes, imagining her rage and lust of violence being put back in its box. The tactic her first psychologist recommended worked really well. Silver felt her muscles relax and the last of her anger drain.

"Sorry. Just hard to stop once I've started," Silver stated, looking at the mare in question, the last of her rage finally vented.

"They really are silver, aren't they?" The mare stared at Silver.

Right, lost the shades, Silver thought before she walked towards where she'd heard her shades land earlier. "Yeah, they are," Silver said, a touch of hostility permeating the simple response.

"Are you--"

"Blind? No, but sometimes I try to be," Silver replied. She'd heard every excuse in the book about her silver eyes, but none held true. She was an anomoly, just like being immune to magic. A unique case in a cruel student body driven world. Silver finally found the frames of her glasses lying behind the small staircase to the door, under the lamp in the wall. Silver sat down, feeling a small tear form in her eyes as she picked up what remained of her most precious possessions

The lenses had been smashed on the corner of the brick wall, shards of baby blue glass spread all over the ground. The frames themselves were bent completely out of shape, resembling pies with slices missing rather than the shape of pony eyes.

"Thank you for saving me." The mare had walked up to Silver's side, and for once the pegasus didn't notice the clopping of hooves on rock. She didn't hear the sirens pull up or the officials start yelling at her. She just sat in the corner, looking at what remained of the best chapter of her life. The best part of her life. The only part of her life she'd ever wanted to preserve.

A/N:
Okay, I got a general idea behind this story now. Story arc, major events, it's all forumlating beautifully.
I wanted to thank Kolwynia, DeathChain01, and Librarian for their constructive criticism on me first chapter.
I know it ended too soon, and it was completely my bad, but hey! The major event here is worth it, no?
Haven't decided on the level of involvement on our "mysterious mare" here yet, but you'll be seeing her again.
If I do make her part of the full story, I'll be updating the tags.
Oh, who am I kidding? She's kind of crucial! TO THE TAGS!
Again, thank you for the criticism and I do welcome anything that will help me write this better. Or write better in general. Thank you!

Chapter 3 - Fallout

"Doc, are you crying?" Silver asked. She had been telling Doc her story and lost herself in the memory. Every thought, every move, every emotion Silver had unintentionally shared with this guy. She guessed he was a light heart when it came to this stuff.

"No, absolutely not!" Doc replied, but the sound of a light sniffle told Silver otherwise.

"Doc, please don't lie to me. It's just common courtesy." Silver wanted him to admit it. She figured him to be sympathetic to his patients, given most of them honestly needed and deserved it, but this went to an almost empathetic level. Maybe he's really good at his job because he can feel more empathy than most shrinks, Silver thought to herself.

"Fine, I'm crying," Doc finally gave in as he rushed for his desk. A few seconds of him rummaging through his drawer he came back with a plain brown box with tissues sticking out of it. He set it down on the table and pulled one out for himself, blowing into it. "Honestly, I don't know how you can't be. I wasn't even there and you have me crying! ME! I'm supposed to be able to hold it together!"

"Simple answer, Doc: I'm the mental patient," Silver replied as plainly as she could, "I'm supposed to be screwed up in the head. You, on the other hoof, aren't. That's why you're the Doctor here." Okay, so Silver bent the truth a little. The truth was she had cried, but it was at that spot where her final tie to the good days was destroyed. Shattered over the alley corner, the frames themselves so ruined as to be nearly irrepairable. But during her time in the police office, she'd gotten to think about them. Think of ways to make it right.

Her first thought had been to give the four colts another lesson in mental instability, but her conscious held her back on that front. It wasn't their fault, even if they had caused the situation. In the end, it was just bad timing on all parties involved. Well, most parties, anyway.

"Now you don't lie to me," Doc retorted. Silver knew it was a shot in the dark, but she decided to give him a small victory.

"Fine. I'm not crying because I have a plan. I have all the pieces, I have the frames, mostly thanks to Octavia," Silver replied. Doc froze when she mentioned the name, tissue still in his hoof.

"Thanks to-- wait, what?" Doc suddenly had this half-confused, half-amazed look on his face.

"You started crying before formal introductions, Doc," Silver stated.

"No no no, you just said 'Octavia', as in the Octavia?"

This time it was Silver's turn to look perplexed. "Pink bowtie, white collar, treble clef cutie mark?"

"That's the one!"

"She's famous?"

"How could you not know?!" Doc waved his hooves like mad.

"How could I?" Silver replied plainly, "I live in a low-end apartment in the low-income side of the city with a hyperactive, wannabe newspony and a filly a little over half my age. I can afford food and shelter, but not really any magazines."

Doc held up his hoof pointing at Silver as if he was going to retort but said in a plain voice, "Fair enough. So, what happened next?" He returned to his sitting posture on the chair, tossing the tissue into the wastebin next to the chair.

How did I miss seeing that? Silver thought to herself. She took in a deep breath and cleared her mind again. She wanted just the memories and not the thought of saving a famous pony, which actually made her feel a little giddy inside. Then she began again, though not quite where she'd left off.

"Okay, I have just one question for you."

Octavia's ears perked at the first words she'd heard from Silver since they'd arrived. Octavia looked up, looking at the silver pegasus through the iron bars that separated them. Even after Octavia had explained exactly what happened, the still had Silver in the locked cell. Octavia still didn't understand why but had given up trying to find out. "Very well, what would you like to know?" Octavia asked plainly.

"Why did you have them pick up the pieces?"

Octavia narrowed her eyes for a bit, wondering if the pegasus sitting in front of her was being serious. This pegasus that not forty minutes earlier had been taking down four large colts chasing Octavia without so much as a hint of hesitation or fear . She'd moved extremely fast, almost too fast for the musician to track. Now she looked as if she was a stone statue, looking at her forelegs as she talked. "Because there's always a chance to repair them," Octavia replied simply.

The bag holding all of the pieces of the pegasus' shades was laying on the nearest desk in the police station among the written testimonials of the four colts and Octavia. Her rescuer had yet to give a statement, having been sent into emotional shock. At least, that was Octavia's theory. It wasn't too good, but it was better than nothing.

The building the two were in was barely populated, given that most officers were either home or on night patrol. It was extremely late, after all. The desks in the main lobby were arranged in two rows, both rows consisting of seven desks. The thing about this office, however, was that the holding cells were across from the windows overlooking the street outside. Octavia sat in front of the last cell in the line of four, farthest away from the one the colts from earlier were being held in. All four cells were exactly the same: concrete floor, concrete walls, concrete ceiling. One amenity was the light in each cell, inset into the ceiling so that prisoners couldn't reach it. That was the only not-concrete thing about the cells besides the iron bars that made the barrier between the desks and the occupants.

"Has she said anything?" A gruff voice asked from behind Octavia. He was a navy blue unicorn with a midnight blue mane. His cap and coat showed that he was the nighttime captain in charge of the station.

"Nothing of interest to your investigation, I'm afraid. Perhaps if we let her out?" Octavia was hoping to get some freedom for her odd rescuer.

"She's in there of her own request, you know. I've seen her type before, honestly. Take every attempt to be punished about something bad they think they did."

"Actually," the pegasus said as she looked up. Her silver eyes were oddly entrancing as Octavia watched them move to the officer. "I asked to be in here for their safety," she jerked her head towards the line of cells to Octavia's left, "not because of some sort of self-destruction. Ask anypony, I like myself too much to accept undue punishment."

"That's quite possibly the longest sentence from you that I've heard," Octavia thought aloud.

"Do we at least have somepony to notify of where you are? Or even a name to work with?" the captain asked.

The pony took in a deep breath, obviously trying to remain calm from something within her thoughts. "Just call me Silver. And please get those four out of here soon." With that she looked back down at her hooves and returned to her statuesque position.

Wow, she's really shut down. Those shades must have been extremely important, even more than Vinyl's, Octavia thought to herself.

"Well, I guess that's it from her," the captain said plainly, "I'm currently waiting for a group to help transport the colts in the end cell to another facility. We don't actually have long-term cells in this place, as you can see."

"Very well, thank you," Octavia replied kindly as the captain walked down to the other end.

"You know you get one now, right?" Silver's sudden question startled Octavia. She quickly looked over and saw the pegasus watching her with those silver eyes, a hint of pain swimming amongst other intangible emotions.

"One what?" Octavia stepped closer to the bars before sitting next to the cell, looking in on its occupant.

"A question. You get one question, not including the one you just asked." Silver's lips tugged into a small smile for a second before returning to her neutral expression. "Use it wisely."

Octavia knew the question to ask, the one that might pull her rescuer out of her turmoil. Octavia didn't know how she knew the question to ask, but she knew. "Why are they so important to you?"

The pegasus looked at Octavia for a moment before turning to stare at the light in the ceiling. She remained there for a couple minutes, long enough for Octavia to start believing she wasn't getting an answer. Finally, the pegasus spoke quietly so only Octavia could hear. "Memories. A happier time in my life when I was who I should've been." The pegasus turned her head to look at Octavia again. "When I first got those shades I thought they'd be my ticket out of the pit I'd been cast into my entire life. I quickly discovered it wasn't that simple. My parents hated them, my classmates kept trying to steal them from me, the only one who ever truly liked them was my sister. She was the only pony in my life that actually cared why I'd gotten them, and the only one to help me realize that they weren't a free ticket. True, I'd gotten them custom made and everything, but they weren't the full answer. Not really."

Octavia took the moment of pause to look over at the evidence bag that still held the shattered remains of those sunglasses. She hadn't thought about them as being much more than just what they were. I guess their importance would only be known to somepony who knew the owners. Octavia's thoughts moved to her best friend momentarily before coming back where they belonged: the here and now. "Alright, your turn again," Octavia said as she turned back to the pegasus, hoping that she'd continue the game.

"What is your name?"

"Well that's a waste of a question," Octavia stated before she could even think. She instantly regretted saying it.

"Mine to waste, isn't it?" Silver asked, shrugging a shoulder.

"I suppose it is. My name is Octavia. It's a pleasure to meet you Silver." Octavia extended a hoof through the bars. This is something I never imagined I'd be doing in a million years, Octavia thought to herself. Shaking hooves with a pony behind bars that wasn't Vinyl.

Silver stood up and walked over to the bars, meeting Octavia's hoof with her own. "Likewise," she said through a polite smile. "Your turn."

"Why are you keeping up this game?" Octavia asked as they both lowered their hooves.

"Because it's better to talk to somepony than stew here imagining ways to get at those four down there." Silver accented the end of her statement by looking at the concrete wall again. The one that led down the line of cells to the other end. "I figure if I'm talking with a pony who's not as mentally crazy as I am it should keep my mind from stalling." Silver looked back through the bars, a small smile gracing her lips. "I'm not going to count that against you, by the way."

"Generous as that may be, I believe it is your turn now," Octavia replied.

Silver sighed, then looked as if she'd just had an idea. "What's the question you really want to ask?"

Octavia never got the chance to be looped in, though, as the sounds of doors slamming from the other end of the office drew both mares' attention.

In front of the double doors stood a bright orange pegasus. His golden mane showed off the fact that he next to never took care of it, being a complete mess. His short tail showed a little more care, given that it was straight. He was sort of thin, but not in an unpleasant way. He had a look in his bright green eyes that was akin to joy, though it didn't make much sense in the police station. His cutie mark, from what Octavia could make out, was a white postage stamp outline, a corner of it being cut with a pair of gold scissors.

Before Octavia could blink, the orange pegasus dashed to a random desk, opened a drawer and rifled through it. After a second he pulled out a key then headed straight to the cell Octavia was standing in front of. He nudged Octavia aside as he stuck the key in the lock. She glared at him though he never saw it.

"Silver! You won't believe it! Li'l Boss wants to see you. Now," he said frantically as he slid open the door. His voice reminding her of a stereotypic young news reporter: bright, cheery, and about an octave above normal. "Something about 'Elzie' or some name like that! Whoever she is, she's got the boss really happy! Oh, I wonder if he'll want to give you a promotion! Or maybe a raise! Or a promotion and a raise!"

"Clipper," Silver's voice was calm as she just watched the pegasus hover off the ground.

"Hey, if you get a raise, can we get a couch?"

"Clipper."

"I know the perfect place to get one! There's this great furniture shop downtown that sells--" Octavia just sat and watched as the excited pegasus, obviously named 'Clipper' for some reason, began listing everything that the shop sold in excruciating detail. "And they got this really sweet-" Clipper never got to say what it was, though, as Silver had grabbed him by his tail and pulled him to the ground.

Silver obviously regretted grabbing onto his tail with her teeth, though, because she started coughing the second she'd let him go. "By Celestia, what did you put in that?" was all she could get out between the coughing fits.

"Latest craze. Apparently the shampoo is supposed to make manes and tails literally glow! But it doesn't seem to work too well," Clipper replied as he looked at his tail.

Silver shook her head before looking to Octavia, still trying to get the taste out of her mouth. "Sorry about Clipper. When he gets on a track nothing else registers."

"It's quite alright. You seem excited about something, though," Octavia directed the last statement to the pegasus who was now hovering again, but this time close to the ground.

"Li'l Boss never wants to see his table-tops!"

"DJ's," Silver corrected with a hint of annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah. Still, Boss never asks to see his staff! He lets Check do his talking," Clipper explained.

"I see," was all Octavia could manage. "Look, thank you again for saving me back there. If there's any way I can repay you, let me know."

"I will. It's nice to talk to someone normal for a change," Silver said with a smile. "Thanks for keeping my head on straight, Octavia. Well, straighter, anyway."

"It's actually been sort of fun," Octavia said as Silver moved towards the nearest desk, "I just hope you can get those repaired."

Silver nodded, looking at the evidence bag in front of her. The one with her mangled shades within. "I do, too. I'll heal either way, though. You, on the other hoof, " She said to Clipper, a tone of authority taken over her normal voice, "make sure to put that key back. Your cousin would kill both of us if you lost it."

Clipper suddenly had a guilty smile on his face. He took the key out of the now-open lock and went to return it.

"So, how are you getting home?" Silver asked Octavia, the friendly smile returning.

"Well, I was planning on having the captain walk me home. I honestly have no idea where I am at the moment," Octavia replied, looking out the window at the moonlit road outside.

"I know these streets pretty well, you know. I could show you the way back if you'd like."

Octavia thought about that offer for a moment. But only for a moment. "Thank you. Shall we get going, then?"

"Can you wait just another minute?" Silver asked as she held up a hoof.

Octavia nodded then watched as Silver trotted over to the end cell. She rose onto her hind legs and slid her forelegs through the bars, resting on the cell door's lock as if an old friend talking to an inmate.

"She's mending bridges." The calm voice of the pony behind her made Octavia jump. This got a laugh from Clipper, who had snuck up behind the musician.

Octavia regained her composure quickly, though, managing a calm "What?"

"She's mending bridges," Clipper repeated. "Silver is a true warrior of the old times. She may seem harsh and cruel to her opponents, enjoying their pain," he emphasized the last comment, "but she'll also show an amount of honor and respect, no matter what is said. Believe it or not, no psychologist she's ever seen has told her to do this. She just does it naturally; after she's cooled off, of course." The orange pegasus chuckled through the last part. Clipper picked up the evidence bag from the desk next to him and started towards the door. "Come on, we can get started out. Silver will catch up."

Octavia nodded, following the orange pegasus to the end of the office before stopping. Looking at the silver pegasus she noticed Silver had a warm smile, the kind she'd given Octavia not five minutes earlier. The four colts also seemed to be more relaxed, despite being in a concrete cell, and were talking with Silver as if they'd known her for years.

"Clipper?"

"Yes, Octavia?"

Octavia looked at the colt's bright green eyes. He's quite close, she thought as she took a step back.

"Can we wait for her?"

Clipper nodded. "Boss won't be happy, but he never really is anyway."

Silver walked along the roads with a smile, guiding Octavia back the way they'd came. The streets were as empty as before, but Silver's ears were still on alert. It wasn't just ponies that graced these marvels of stone and pavement. Some very bad things also liked to hide in the very few abandoned buildings on this end of town.

Clipper, on the other hoof, was completely oblivious to the dark, foreboding streets and buildings. He flew happily along, the bag holding the remnants of Silver's glasses dangling from his neck. He'd scavenged a piece of string from his cousin's desk at the station while Silver was chatting with the colts and had thread it through a hole he'd made in the bag. Silver wanted to carry them, but Clipper insisted on handling it.

"If you carry them and get into a fight, you could really lose them," he'd argued.

Silver had just conceded. She wasn't in the mood to argue with the stubborn pegasus. Although, thanks to her chat with Octavia, her mood had greatly improved. She'd 'cooled off,' as Clipper had put it, rather fast compared to most situations she'd been in. Silver figured it was because she had been talking with a calm, collected, and sane pony instead of with Clipper, who wasn't the first two. Silver was still debating on the third, but she gave him some benefit of the doubt.

The sound of buzzing announced to Silver that they had finally reached the part of the city with streetlamps. With lightning bugs. That were still buzzing and giving Silver a hard time. Really wish they'd just go solar-powered lighting already, Silver whined inside her head.

"...And that is how you resize a photo for a newspaper's front page!" Clipper's voice invaded Silver's head as her mind's sound filters were released.

"Fascinating, if not exceedingly detailed," Octavia said.

"He'll do that," Silver stated with a smile. "Pictures are his thing. Everything he learned he did hooves-on. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't made chief photographer of a paper yet." Silver's smile became sarcastic as she turned to look at Clipper.

"Yeah, really funny, Silver," Clipper replied, moving to hover in front of the other two. "The reason I'm not top of my media is because it's an under appreciated art! It takes no talent to just slap a picture on a piece of paper, but to make it flow and fit within that paper, to make it one with the image and the story that image tells, that's true talent."

Silver just smiled. Her friend's passion for his 'art' was never lost on her, though she wished he didn't always have to explain it in perfect detail.

They had just turned the final corner onto the street that Spectrum was on when a voice rang in Silver's ears. "Silver, just the mare I wanted to see!" It was piercing, though not entirely painful. It was like the voice of a stereotypic mob boss, only an octave up and off-key. The colt that had said it walked up, his light brown coat in neat fashion under his black tuxedo. The colt's dark brown mane was perfectly trimmed and neat, directly under his black bowler hat. "I want to thank you so much for finding a perfect replacement DJ!" he said as he grabbed Silver's hoof in his own, shaking it violently.

"I'm sorry, what?" Silver really hoped she hadn't heard the word she'd heard Li'l Boss say.

"Your replacement! She's perfect! I have to say, you have an ear for talent. Hopefully you'll remember me when you make it big! Until then, it's been a great pleasure working with you! May you have many years of joy and fame." The colt concluded his sentence with what sounded like honesty, but Silver could tell differently. He then turned off and walked back into the club he'd come out of. Silver looked up at the sign, the realization hitting her. I just got fired, she thought as she looked at Spectrum Mane's rainbow-colored sign.

"Woah, woah! Did that guy just do what I think he did?" Clipper asked as he alighted on the ground in front of Silver. "Who the buck does he think he is? You don't just dump your prize DJ on the street! Oh, when I'm done with him, he'll--" The angry orange pegasus started to walk angrily at the door that Boss had disappeared into, but Silver grabbed his tail in her mouth, ignoring the horrid skunk-like taste, holding him in place. Clipper's voice positively dripped with hatred and venom, "Silver, please let me go so I can--"

"No, Clipper. It's not worth it," Silver stated plainly after letting his tail go, turning to walk off to home.

"Not worth it?" Clipper's voice rang out over the entire street. "Silver, this is your passion! It's who you are!"

"So were those," Silver said, looking at the shards of glass still around Clipper's neck.

"Silver!"

But Silver was already gone off down a side street, running as she'd done when things got hard for her. Running harder now that her life was shattered, the pieces hanging around the neck of a pegasus. She had to run. No answer worked here, running was her only option. It had been her only option every time a chapter of her life ended like this. In final ruin, in complete devastation. This time, though, she didn't have that symbol of her confidence to fall back on. She only had the darkness.

So she ran. And kept running.

A/N: Okay, that final section was NOT supposed to happen!
I lost my mind and started typing. What the hay, Boss?!

That out of the way, I wanted to put up front that working with a preexisting personality (Octavia) is difficult for me, so please don't shoot me if she doesn't match what you thought of her!
I'm also going to say the same for Vinyl later on, as once again I'm working with a preexisting personality in the fandom and that's difficult for me to stick to.

As always: Criticize anything here, so long as it's constructive.

Chapter 4 - Clipper's Story

Two Years before Clipper entered the scene

BOOM!

The sound of the fireball hitting a solid object could be heard all across the field.

BOOM! BOOM!

A double whammy. Sterling must really be giving this instructor a run for her money, Silver thought as she zipped up the hill that separated the Silver Family mansion and the training field devoted to the art of war. Sterling had explained to her why it was part of the estate, but Silver didn't care much. She never was really interested in the history of the Silver family, especially their father's obsession with warfare and combat. Two things that should never be part of Equestria.

An electric blue shield came into view as Silver crested the hill, her small wings buzzing much like a bee's. She could see the burn marks on the uniquely solid barrier where half a dozen fireballs had tried to come from above to penetrate it, but Sterling was too skilled for that to work.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom. Silver crested the hill just in time to watch the magic instructor try the famous last-ditch effort to break her sister's shield: The Gaitling-style bombardment.

It was a unique bombardment style, designed to chip away at the target over time. It had actually been recently invented by a unicorn, Sir Rapid Gait. He wanted to make a magic style that could take out normal shields and use less focus than a massive, one fireball assault. The latter may have drained the shield user, but it also drained the attacker, putting them in a stalemate. Sir Gait's strategy, however, allowed the attacker enough energy left over to bring the final blow. It was devised for the royal guard, who were the only ponies outside of specialty instructors allowed to use it.

She touched down on the top of the hill and watched as a seemingly endless stream of fireballs hit the overly large electric blue shield. In the middle of the shield stood a single unicorn, her appearance pristine and her posture perfect, her eyes closed. Sterling had a true silver coat, unlike Silver's off-white. Her mane was long, luxurious, and shone the same color as her shield. The soft yellow highlights ran the length of Sterling's mane and practically multiplied as they went on, making Sterling's mane end in a beautiful yellow rather than the electric blue it started as. She was incredibly attractive, as was evidenced by the colts that followed her at school.

Sterling opened her eyes, revealing two electric blue irises that matched her mane in intensity. They could hold a lot of compassion despite this intensity, however. Something Silver knew very well firsthoof. Sterling moved her right hoof an inch outwards, ruining her perfect pose but signaling that she was ready to wrap up this particular 'training' exercise. Silver watched intently, eager to get every detail as her sister moved.

The shield around her sister seemed to grow more opaque as Sterling slid her right foreleg further outwards. She was splitting her shield into two, one inside the other. The next move caught the instructor by complete surprise and was almost too fast for Silver to keep track of, which was impressive.

Sterling moved her right foreleg forward in a quick motion, her eyes focusing on the black mare in front of her. The outer shell suddenly deformed, a tendril large enough to surround the pony shooting outwards, engulfing the instructor who still hadn't relented on her fireball barrage. Some fireballs managed to be sent down the tendril but were stopped by the inner shell. Sterling then reeled her in quickly, her right foreleg commanding the tendril and her eyes never leaving her target. In a few seconds, the instructor was caught between the two shields, flipped over then placed on the ground on her back. The shields dissolved a few seconds later as Sterling lowered her head, her horn still glowing from the electric blue restraints around the instructor's upturned legs.

The instructor stared wide-eyed at Sterling as her little sister buzzed down the hill. Even at this distance, Silver could hear the instructor's words as clearly as if she was right next to the pair.

"That was amazing! Impressive, as well, and really quick, to boot!"

Sterling released the instructor from the electric-blue bonds around her legs. Sterling's voice was mature for her young age and held a sense of propriety. These traits, however, could never take from Sterling the kindness she wanted to convey, "Thank you. I have to be honest, though: that is the oldest trick I have. I'm not sure why my parents didn't inform you of it."

"I'm not sure, either, but you obviously surpass any defensive training I could possibly provide you. Oh, and who's this?" The instructor asked as Silver trotted up next to her sister, a look of praise on her face. The instructor had returned to her hooves whilst admiring Sterling's skill and now stood upright, her posture one of elegance.

"This is my little sister, Quick," Sterling said as she nuzzled the pegasus foal. "Quick, this is Miss Charcoal. She's here to instruct me on how to throw fireballs."

"A pleasure to meet you," Charcoal said to the filly.

Silver smiled in return, noting the mare's bright red mane and orange highlights. Yep, she's definitely a firey one, Silver mused to herself.

"So, shall we begin? Uhm, is there some non-flammable target we can use in this field?" Charcoal looked around at the various equipment lying around the field.

The field itself was a large dirt area surrounded by short, neatly-cut grass and was nestled between several rolling hills, making a naturally formed bowl. The edges of the field held various exercise and training equipment. The equipment was like the stuff normally found in an average gym only fed with steroids and filled with pure lead. Needless to say training out in the field was a chore for anypony, but it would get them into shape in about a quarter of the time of a normal gym.

"Sis, you want to volunteer?" Sterling looked at her sister, smiling.

"Now hold on. I am not--"

"Sure!" Silver said instantly, happy to help out her sister any way she could. Then she thought about it a minute. "As long as we don't burn my mane," Silver said methodically.

"Now wait just a minute! I am not going to allow you to use your little sister as a target!" Charcoal stamped her hoof on the ground, as if to make the decision final.

"I'll be fine," Silver said simply. "Watch." Silver took off, her wings buzzing loudly again as she gained some altitude. Once she could see the manor across the hill, Silver yelled back down to Sterling, "Alright! Let it fly!"

Charcoal watched in horror as Sterling conjured a fireball and shot it towards the flying pegasus. Silver smiled as she watched the fireball come at her. Sterling had quickly learned how to form a fireball, but it honestly did very little. Sterling had once tried to light a campfire with it, only watching as the fireball had dissipated on the sticks. It didn't matter here, though. Sterling wanted to prove a point, even if her example wasn't totally honest.

Unlike her fireballs, Sterling's aim was extremely impressive, though it didn't really matter when Silver was actually trying to dodge. Silver could feel the heat when the fireball was close to her. She closed her eyes and felt the wave of warmth wash over her as the fireball practically dissolved against her coat. The warm magic warped itself around her, surrounding her sides and licking at her back. Sadly the warmth had to subside, and when it did Silver opened her eyes to see a jaw-dropped black mare staring up at her. She laughed as she did a backflip, just to prove she was fine.

"My sister can't be directly affected by magic," Sterling explained to the stunned mare. "Experts call her null-magic, though I have to say that's a very unintelligent way of putting it."

The mare was still staring at Silver, who started feeling a little uncomfortable, when she spoke, "how is that possible? It's never been heard of before. I mean, there's magical shields and spells to block and counter another's magic, but a pegasus can't use them. At least, not normally."

Sterling's giggle at the mare's stating of the obvious made Silver smile. "There's no special magic spell about her, she just can't be touched by it. Not always a good thing." Sterling raised a hoof to punctuate her final statement. "Look, you're here to teach me on throwing fireballs, and Silver's the best choice for training. I'm not going with anything or anypony else."

Charcoal was beginning to recover at this point, her jaw moving itself back to the skull it hung from. "Well, I guess she'll work wonderfully, then. I just hope nopony realizes we're using a foal for target practice."

Silver waved as Charcoal began instructing Sterling on how to 'properly' form a fireball. Sterling waved back, signaling that she knew Silver was listening in. Just in case Sterling needed a rehash during her training. Silver was the knowledge book and training partner, doing it all for her sister. Sterling was the sister who cared, who gave it all when it came to Quick Silver.

Doc had been watching the mare sink into her thoughts for a few moments now. It was obvious she wasn't registering anything outside of her mind. Doc wasn't about to intrude onto those thoughts, either. He's been warned repeatedly about Silver's 'warrior personality,' as his predecessors had called it, and the 'volatility' of it. What a load of bunk, Doc thought as he remembered the notes on Silver's file.

The silver pegasus finally looked at the Doc, her eyes pretty much telling him she was back in the real world. He had to work from the last point she'd told him, which had been her running from her troubles in front of a club in the middle of Manehatten and leaving her two friends behind. She knows how to make a good cliffhanger, Doc thought to himself.

"Well, I can't say running away was your best choice of action, but I do have to say I'm glad to hear you held your friend back. I can't imagine how you must've felt then." Doc had to hold back that sense of grief that had welled inside him earlier. He had a heightened empathy towards his patients, and this one had a lot of strong emotions behind her words, even if it wasn't spoken. The unspoken stuff was the hardest for him to ignore, given he invested himself in her story even more than the mare had. At least this time he wasn't crying. That was an improvement.

"My world had just shattered, Doc. It's still shattered. I didn't want my friend to go and get himself thrown in jail. I still don't regret it." Silver looked at the Doc, her silver irises warping a little from the tears that had been forming. Doc had figured out a while ago that Silver was wearing contacts that gave her eyes a more normal appearance. That is to say, giving her black pupils to go with her silver irises.

"Well, it shows a strength of character and I have to say that's impressive for a pony of your history."

"Thank you," Silver said with a small smile. Her story was getting closer to the present, Doc figured, so the emotional side of it was going to keep hitting her harder and harder which also meant hitting him harder, too. If she has one more emotional blow in this story I'm going to need a psychologist! Maybe even a psychiatrist! Doc thought before once again letting the story play in his head.

They'd been searching all night, originally in the direction silver had gone in and then spreading out to search the city. There was no sign of the silver pegasus, however, no matter how high or low they looked.

"Are you completely sure she wasn't fit to fly?" Clipper asked as he landed on the street in front of the musician. Octavia had decided early on to help him find Silver. She had to help. The pegasus had, in one night, saved her life and lost her own, and the musician knew she had to help, though didn't know why she knew.

"Yes, absolutely. She told us her wings had fractured, remember? When we were still on those dark streets." Octavia looked up at the sky. Luna's moon had gone a while ago and a red hue began to mark the few clouds in the sky, signaling the coming of Celestia's sun. "Is it possible she went back home?" Octavia's question didn't have a real origin, it had just come out.

"I doubt it, but at this point that's the only place that makes sense to look. We'd never find her if we keep searching the streets, especially if she doesn't want to be found. Blast it, Boss! I should still beat the--"

"Clipper," Octavia interrupted the orange pegasus. She tried to emulate the authority Silver had earlier that night, but the attempt backfired.

"What?" He shot, glaring at Octavia who took a step back. After a second he closed his eyes and looked away. "I'm sorry, it's just not finding Silver is getting to me. She's out there, somewhere, alone. I want to find her. I want to help her. I feel lost without her." Clipper sat on the street, hanging his head and letting his wings fall on the ground. "You know, Silver's always there when somepony needs her, but always thinks she's alone when she needs somepony."

Clipper took the bag hanging around his neck in his hoof, looking at the fragments within. "Well, it's like you said," Octavia tried gently. "She seems like the kind of pony that can completely disappear if she really wanted to, wings or not. There's no point in searching every street for her if that's the case. The only thing to do is wait for her."

"You know you didn't have to stay, Octavia."

"I know," Octavia replied simply. "I want to help any way I can."

Clipper looked at Octavia, a smirk crossing his face. "You sure about that? Because your mane doesn't seem to like it all that much."

It was true. Octavia's mane had been nearly perfect when the night began, and even in the police station. Over the course of the search, however, her mane had become very unkempt, hairs leaving their positioning and blowing freely. It wasn't that her mane had completely lost its shape, it just gained a fuzzier outline than normal. A lot fuzzier than normal. "Neither does my beauty rest," Octavia replied as she yawned. Honestly, why am I out here? I know what she did for me, but is this completely necessary? Octavia's answer was obvious, though. Yes, a small voice inside her head confirmed.

"You should head home, Octavia. You look pretty beat," Clipper said.

"But we haven't--"

"Octavia, you're right. If she wanted to be found we'd have found her by now. The only thing we can do now is head home. Hopefully she'll turn up." Clipper started heading down the street they had been in, his head hanging low. Octavia looked around at the empty buildings for a moment before catching up to Clipper. Her muscles had also taken a toll from the overnight search, but she kept it from showing.

Octavia walked in silence for a bit before the question she'd been wanting to ask Clipper all night finally returned to her. "How long have you known Silver?" Octavia asked quietly.

"Silver the pony or Silver the pony?" Clipper asked in reply, his head still low.

"Pardon?" Octavia's confusion was summed up in that one word.

"How long have I known the mental Silver or Silver in general?" Clipper elaborated.

"There's a difference?" Octavia had heard her share of ponies with multiple personalities, but Silver didn't seem like one of those ponies. She seemed relatively normal.

"Yes, there is," Clipper replied before taking a deep breath. "I originally met Silver back when we were foals. She'd already gotten her cutie mark when I'd met her. She was the first to get it in our class." Octavia could hear the colt's voice start to fade into memories. "Back then, she was a normal filly. She had this energy that nopony else could keep up with, a constant bounce to her step. Her family, however, didn't see her energy as a good thing. They saw Silver-- No, that's not fair."

Clipper stopped in the road for a minute, shaking his head as if to bat away flies. Octavia just waited for him, quietly anticipating the story. After a moment Clipper resumed his slow walk, Octavia matching him step for step. "Silver's family didn't understand her. Their entire family tree was filled with unicorns. No pegasi. No earth ponies. They didn't get that Silver was just a normal filly. They thought they had to reel her in, become prim and proper like they'd been trained to be. Match in with the 'Silver Family Attitude.'" Clipper couldn't hide the venom in those last three words.

"They didn't know what to do, so they called a psychologist every time something happened. 'Silver fell out of a tree!' 'Get the psychologist!' 'Silver's hovering!' 'Get a psychologist!' 'Silver's hanging from the chandelier!' 'Get a psychiatrist!' Oh, the psychiatrists were the worst. They didn't only talk with silver, they were allowed to prescribe medication for anything they see. And Silver's parents had them all convinced she needed them when she didn't.

"I counted seven meds Silver was taking at the highest count. I also watched as my friend was slowly decaying because of them. Turns out her parents never informed one psychiatrist of another's prescription, so they had no idea that they were giving the filly more meds she didn't need. Silver became unstable. 'Sporadic' was the word her parents used. She got angered easily and got into more fights in a week than she'd had in the year before. She'd forget the smallest details then get frustrated because she couldn't remember them. It was hard for me to watch my friend degrade before my eyes no matter how hard I tried to keep her sane. It was hard to watch my friend fade from who she was." Clipper stopped walking and sat down, tears rolling down his cheeks as he remembered those times. "I almost lost her. I almost lost my best friend, Octavia," Clipper said as he looked at the musician. He was obviously crying and made no motion to hide it. He sat there a few moments before resuming his walk and his story.

"I decided after a few weeks that I had to tell somepony about Silver," Clipper continued, his eyes returning to the front again. "So I told the one pony I knew who could intervene. I told Sterling, Silver's sister. Sterling hadn't seen what I'd seen, and I guessed it was because her parents probably shielded her from what they thought was an already damaged little filly. Oh, you should've seen her face when I told her the truth. She was sooooooo mad," Clipper's voice started to lift from the sadness. "I didn't get to watch the fallout, but I really wish I had. From what Silver had told me Sterling had actually railed on their parents about the whole ordeal. Not physically, mind you," Clipper added as he looked at Octavia's slightly horrified expression, "but her voice could be heard clear across the countryside as she screamed at them. They had to be cowering from her, the anger she'd shown when I told her was pretty intense. Her parents had tried to hide her sister's condition from her, be it real or imagined. Needless to say they didn't try that again.

"In the end, Silver's meds were all stopped, but the damage was done. She wasn't the same pony, though she did recover her energetic side. She was easier to anger, and was more open to depression and sadness. Anything really bad made her shut down completely, times where she wouldn't register anything. She began referring to major events as 'the beginning of new chapters' and, well, she was never the same. The affection I'd come to enjoy was gone, the naivety had been stripped and Silver was, at her core, different. I missed the days when we'd lay in the grass and she'd curl up next to me. Then I missed her completely when she disappeared from the world without so much as a 'goodbye.' That day was the hardest in my life," Clipper concluded his story with a sigh. The tears from before had dried out, but Octavia could still see the memories weighed heavily on him.

"She obviously came back, though, at some point." Octavia tried her best to lighten the orange pegasus's mood.

"Yeah, a few months ago. I'd just moved here myself when I heard of a new DJ going through the clubs. A DJ with a rather uninventive name: 'DJ Silver.' Usually DJ's wouldn't use their real names, but hearing hers made me want to find her, even if she didn't turn out to be Silver. She was, though she was different again. I can't put my hoof on how, but it seems each time a new 'chapter' gets written in her life Silver changes. Her entire mind seems to rewrite itself every time, the memories of the past buried."

Octavia had gotten more than she'd intended, but she now understood the two pegasi more. She was thankful for that. "That must be why she has such a strong connection to the sunglasses," Octavia thought aloud.

"Her only constant tie to her good chapter, when she was that affectionate little filly." Clipper supplied the reasoning, though Octavia had already put it together. Still, it made her feel better hearing it spoken, even if by a heartbroken colt.

The buildings around the pair had slowly changed from empty brick cubes to taller, more rectangular structures. The existence of gardens and balconies hanging off the sides showed that they were apartment buildings, though not as high-income as Octavia was used to. That's not to say they were total wrecks, namely because they weren't, but they were obviously low-income despite the pristine maintenance.

Ponies began stepping out of the apartment buildings as Clipper turned a corner and Octavia soon followed. Every pony that passed them as they walked up the street looked at Octavia. My hair must really be a mess, she thought as soft glares came at her. Like she was out of place but not exactly intruding. The looks of the other ponies around her did make her feel very uncomfortable, though.

"Everypony living in these buildings helps maintain the buildings exteriors," Clipper explained as Octavia looked around at the ponies and buildings. "While the rooms within may not be as neat, the buildings themselves remain presentable thanks to a combined effort. Everypony pitches in something, be it free work hours or money to help buy supplies or anything the buildings could need. It's a close-knit community, so I should warn you: outsiders aren't always welcome, but you're not in danger, either." Clipper's warming smile as he finished eased Octavia's worries about the neighborhood.

"I'll see you later today, Eight. Just be good, and be careful." The voice wafted down the street from the direction Clipper and Octavia were walking. It stuck out because it was a voice they both recognized:

"Silver?" They asked in unison.

As if on cue, the ponies on the pathway split down the middle, giving clear line of sight to the rounded end of the street. Not too far from the end, however, a young, green filly was walking towards the pair. She was accompanied by a mare Octavia could only guess was a teacher. Hopefully she was a teacher. But the green filly and her escort were quickly forgotten as Octavia looked at the pony the filly was smiling at. The silver eyes smiling back.

In a flash Clipper had gone from barely walking to flying full bore at Silver, the impact sliding them both down the sidewalk a good seven feet. Octavia picked up the evidence bag from the ground, the string haven been broken by Clipper's sudden acceleration. By the time Octavia caught up Clipper had the silver pegasus in a bear hug, which Silver was returning in kind. Octavia could just see the shades of blue forming from a lack of air on the ponies when they finally released.

"Silver, where were you? Why'd you run off? Why are you back?" Clipper's last question was filled with more skepticism than concern.

"Inside, explanation," Silver replied, nodding to Octavia. "You're welcome to come in, if you'd like."

Octavia just smiled and returned the nod. She, too, wanted to know what had happened and why the mare was apparently back home and happy. Or at least seemed happy.

The interior of the apartment building was just as pristine as the outside. The carpet was obviously old, but very well maintained. The elevator shone in a bronze brilliance as the three friends took it to the fourth floor. The doors along the hallway showed great care to detail, almost no hoofmarks or damage on any of them. They were arranged in an offset manner within the soft yellow walls, right first then left. It's amazing, Octavia thought to herself, it's like being in my apartment building only the residents maintain it. I kind of wish more buildings like these existed. Or at least more communities willing to work together.

Silver and Clipper stopped at the last door in the hallway, this one being on the left side. Silver pressed on the bronze handle and the door opened inward, practically dragging the small silver pegasus inside. Clipper followed her, leaving Octavia to marvel at the detail of the hallway. A loud thud from within the apartment jolted Octavia from her admiration, however. She jumped the last few steps into the doorway.

The apartment behind the door wasn't as well kept as the buildings and the hallways outside. That's not to say the apartment was a wreck, which it wasn't. In fact the white walls and wood flooring were in good shape. It was just apparent that the apartment received less care than the buildings. The biggest sign was the trash along the edges of the floor, dominantly candy wrappers and brown snack bags.

The apartment wasn't as small as Octavia had expected. A dozen ponies could fit into the living room comfortably, if a bit close. An island separated the living room from the small kitchen to the right, which boasted a window view of the building across the alley's orange brick wall. Two doors stood in the back of the living room, centered on the total floorplan rather than just the living room itself. They both showed age and one of them had more wear and tear than the other. The door to the bathroom stood on the left side of the entire apartment, obvious to anypony who looked for it.

The apartment wasn't well-furnished. In fact, the only real furnishings were the two forest-green beanbag chairs, a couple of tables near the doorway Octavia stood in and three obviously discounted barstools at the island. The rest of the apartment that Octavia could see was barren, though she had to admit that the few furnishing that did exist worked rather well for the small space.

The story of the thud that Octavia had heard was instantly known to her. Clipper, in his minor anger, had jumped Silver when she had turned around. She now lie on her back, Clipper holding her down with his hooves on her shoulders. He looked at her as if he couldn't decide between slapping or kissing the mare.

"Okay, Silver," Clipper said, a bit of authority in his voice, "you're going to talk. I'm not letting you up until you do."

Octavia walked in, setting the bag on the table nearest the door, and sat to the side of the pair, making sure to give her own stern look at the silver pegasus. Octavia knew she could throw Clipper off of her, but that would end in Clipper getting hurt, something Octavia now knew that Silver didn't want. Armed with Clipper's story, she knew Clipper could press her into talking.

"Fine, I'll talk," Silver said, emphasizing the last word, "but only if you get off of me."

"Nope. You're staying here until we're done." Clipper's authority had replaced his normally happy inflections.

"I agree. You're too fast to let loose, Silver. Talk to us." Octavia didn't like taking sides, but she felt like she deserved an answer. Especially for an entire night lost looking for the pegasus.

"And if I promise not to run?"

Octavia didn't believe her, but apparently Clipper did. "Promise me?"

"Yes, Clipper. I promise you I'll tell you as soon as you get off of me."

"Fair enough," Clipper said as he stepped back. Silver propped herself up on an elbow but made no additional moves to get up. Clipper sat at her back hooves, his eyes never leaving hers. Silver looked at Octavia for a moment before opening her mouth to speak again.

"I'm sorry I put you through that. Both of you. I shut down. I needed time to think." Silver was obviously delaying, but at least she wasn't running. I just hope it was worth the night, Octavia thought to herself. "Okay, that's not entirely true. I wanted to run, I wanted to leave another chapter behind." Silver's level expression slightly unnerved Octavia. She looked at Clipper, who was also apparently unnerved at the control Silver was demonstrating.

"But I didn't because I thought of everything I'd leave behind," Silver continued in her unnaturally controlled manner. "I've left neighbors before. I've left friends before. I didn't regret it then, but I knew I'd regret it this time."

"Oh, yeah? Why is that?" Clipper asked, a bit of anger in his voice.

Silver looked at the orange pegasus in front of her for a moment before answering. "You." Clipper's expression went blank. "I'd regret leaving you and Eight behind. More so than anything. You made my life here so much better, if a bit harder. I couldn't leave you and Eight, so I decided to stick this chapter out a little longer." Silver finally got up, taking a sitting position in front of the two ponies. She seemed smaller to Octavia at that moment compared to anytime before. "Maybe things will get better, I don't know. But I know you'll-- ho!"

Octavia never got to hear what Silver was going to say as Clipper had jumped at the mare, wrapping his forelegs around her and giving her another tight hug. Octavia looked away as she felt a blush forming from the more intimate moment the pegasi were having. She noticed the bathroom door and decided to tend to her mane and tail while the pegasi shared the moment. A little privacy never hurt, right?

A/N: Only one thing to say: Thank you DeathChain01 for the constant reviews of my mistakes and inconsistencies. I really appreciate it, and I gotta give credit where credit is due! Otherwise I get beat up about it by my conscience.
So, you see DeathChain01 around, give 'em praise! I know I do!

Next chapter's goal: no A/N unless something BIG happens. Shouldn't, but you never know.
Must break note cycle! I MUST!

Chapter 5 - Sterling

The sun had been glaring in the window for a while, slowly creeping up the occupied sheets until finally hitting the brilliant white coat of its occupant. The unicorn stirred, her blue mane with electric blue highlights brushed against the pillow as she lifted her head. She lifted a bit of her wild mane out of her eyes to see the clock: 11:00. It wasn't late by the occupant's standards, but it wasn't early either. Her hoof patted the bed beside her absentmindedly, looking for a pony that wasn't there. Right, Manehattan, the groggy pony thought.

Attempting to return to her pillow, the mare found the direct sunlight again and winced, holding her hoof in front of her eyes. It wasn't worth fighting the sun just for another hour of sleep, so she decided to get up. She looked out the window at the Royal City outside, letting her eyes adjust to the bright sun that reflected off the buildings. Canterlot was a beautiful city. The white mare preferred the city at night, though. A lot more for her to do and have fun doing.

Unlike her roommate, this pony wasn't high-maintenance, which meant she could just get out of bed and roll on with the day. She shook her mane into shape as she walked out the bedroom door and into the lavish, and spotless, apartment.

Vinyl had promised to keep the apartment intact and relatively clean while her roommate was in Manehatten for her concert. It had been a big deal to Octavia the entire month leading up to it. She hadn't stopped talking about it until she'd gotten on the train. Vinyl was glad that she didn't have to keep hearing about the concert, but she missed her best friend, making the trade-off that much worse for her.

Vinyl tried remembering what day it was. It was Sunday, three days before Octavia's big concert. Why it was scheduled on a Wednesday Vinyl would never understand, but at lest she'd be back home come next weekend. The white mare was looking forward to that.

Vinyl walked into the central hallway of their large apartment which was perfect for the two of them, especially with their combined incomes from records and gigs. The records actually paid the most but Vinyl and Octavia still enjoyed playing live to ponies everywhere. The applause didn't hurt, either.

One side of the apartment had the kitchen and both bedrooms. The guest bedroom was almost never used as Vinyl and Octavia shared one room. The kitchen was big enough for the two of them to work together and boasted a small dining area attached, complete with pure white table and chairs. It was mostly Octavia's domain, seeing as Vinyl wasn't the best of cooks.

The other side had the guest bathroom, hall closet, and living room. The living room dominated that half of the apartment, its high ceiling and open archway making the room feel bigger than it was. The designer of the complex was a genius when it came to making small spaces feel open to the world.

The end of the hallway went into the 'studio room,' as it had been sold to them when they'd moved in. The two had since made it into their music studio, a combination of classical instruments and modern records. It also boasted a balcony the two would sit on and watch the stars. They had beautiful stars to look at when the city went to sleep.

The walls of the entire apartment were white, matching Vinyl's coat and allowing the mare to almost completely disappear next to a solid wall. Vinyl had tried it, but her mane and tail sort of gave her away, along with her mirrored double eighth note cutie mark. The floors in the bedrooms, living room and hallway were decked out in a plush, gray carpet. The other rooms boasted finished wood floors.

Vinyl's hooves sank a bit into the carpet as she walked towards the kitchen from the pair's bedroom. Her horn lit with a pale blue magic as she slowly made herself breakfast as she walked. She knew where everything was without looking, so finding it with magic was sort of easy. Easier than it had been in her previous apartments she'd had alone, anyway. Vinyl wasn't cut from the same high-society cloth as her partner was so she knew what it was like living check to check. It wasn't something she was proud of, though.

What she was proud of was finding Octavia, the mare that had swept her off her hooves. At least, that's how Vinyl liked to think of it. In reality their relationship had developed over a long time, starting with complete and utter hatred and ending in true love. There were times the two would still have arguments, but they came and went and had usually ended on a good note.

Vinyl entered the kitchen, her hoofsteps echoing off the wood in the lonely room. She looked at the table, pleased to see that her cereal had poured itself properly. The sun from the small windows in the kitchen gave her plenty of light to eat by so she took a seat and looked out at the Royal Castle in the distance.

Right as Vinyl was about to take her first spoonful of cereal she heard a knock on the door. Groaning loudly, Vinyl levitated her breakfast as she went to answer it. Who would be bugging her on a Sunday? Getting her signature purple shades from the tabletop in the entranceway, Vinyl opened the white door and stuck her head out, looking up and down the hallway. The entire floor was empty. Not a pony in sight, despite the bright wall lights and short time Vinyl had taken getting the door.

Vinyl just shrugged and went back into the apartment, closing the door behind her. She'd taken another spoonful of cereal when she noticed something at her hooves, inside the apartment. It was a small card, flame-red in color. Vinyl picked it up using her magic, turning it over to read what was on the other side. It was written in an odd color: dark blue ink that seemed to shine in Vinyl's aura.

A pony worth hearing, a star worth rising.
We hope you're ready, it is beginning.
Take her hoof, show her the ropes.
Let her shine and bask in new hopes.

Well that's cryptic, Vinyl thought as she put the card on the table next to her. I wonder what it could mean. Maybe Octy will know. Vinyl had taken two steps when another knock came at her door. She let out a loud sigh as she turned around and opened it yet again.

"Good morrow, madame. My name is Sleek Shine and I am here to escort you to your one o'clock appointment." The unicorn colt in the doorway stated. He was definitely high society, given his tux and top hat. The tux went well with his light blue coat and dark golden mane.

Vinyl froze for just a second. She had a one o'clock appointment? She forced her mind to work overtime before remembering the anonymous letter from two weeks ago. The one asking her for setup advice and hosting a rave. It had offered her a good amount of bits if she'd accept, which Vinyl promptly did.

"Wow, she must really be somepony if she's sent the butler to pick me up," Vinyl said through a joking smile. Sleek just stood there, his stoic expression holding firm. Vinyl watched him closely, finishing her cereal as she awaited some kind of delayed response, but it never came. The bottom of the bowl did, however, and Vinyl placed it down on the desk near the doorway. "Alright, let's go," Vinyl said as she walked into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

"I'm her personal assistant, not her butler," Sleek responded in a low voice. Vinyl smiled, knowing that her joke had gotten to the upper crust stallion. The walk to the elevator wasn't long and the elevator ride itself was even shorter. Vinyl couldn't get rid of her smile the entire time, the look on Sleek's face held firmly in her mind for the entire elevator ride.

Getting off the elevator the pair entered the lobby of the apartment building. The lobby reminded Vinyl, a bit too vividly, of high priced hotels. Much like Celestia's Haven, the five-star hotel on the other side of the city. The carpet that spread throughout the large square lobby was a deep red, kept immaculate by janitors cleaning it nightly. A golden pattern of vines spread throughout the lobby with no apparent source; they crawled everywhere until they came to a wall. Silver vine sculptures grew from the places the golden pattern met the sandstone walls, climbing upwards until they met one of the large, ornate windows that dominated the upper half of the tall room.

The ceiling, to Vinyl's amazement when she'd moved in, was even more classical than Octy's music. It was bordered by gold-painted moldings and was host to a large mosaic of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wielding the Elements of Harmony against Discord. Needless to say, it didn't suit Vinyl's tastes.

To Vinyl's left sat a food counter on the back side of a large, dark wood platform. The smells wafting from it included fresh green salads, delicious breads and even some cakes which had been specially ordered by customers. The counter was flanked by a dozen tables, some with ponies sitting around them enjoying a small salad or a cup of tea. A central aisle divided the two sides, granting free access to the end of the platform and the stairs that led to the red floor.

Opposite the food counter and its platform sat the managerial desk, which was designed to look like a luxury hotel's check-in desk. That included marble sculptures and gold framework along the base. It also boasted, quite brilliantly, a solid granite surface. Two ponies sat at this desk to tend to the needs of any pony coming in or out or calling down from their apartment.

In between these major landmarks were several regal red couches and chairs, some of them with occupants, surrounding a hoofful of tables strewn about the lobby.

"If you'll wait here one moment, ma'am, I'll ensure our ride is prepared," Sleek said in his most haughty voice. He then walked across the lobby to the front doors, ignoring the several other high society ponies staring at him and his most snooty of postures. Vinyl watched as the 'assistant' walked out the front and hung a quick left.

"I'm telling you, bud! This place has the best hot hay franks in the city!" The voice of a semi-angry colt soared over the other quieter voices in the lobby. It caught Vinyl's attention instantly. "And here you are asking for a salad, completely oblivious to the wonder of what you have! What is wrong with you?"

Vinyl quickly found the voice's source: a single stallion standing in front of the food counter in the lobby, near the front door. A different stallion was magically whisking away his salad as he attempted to ignore the source of his irritation. Vinyl walked over to the loud stallion right as the mare behind the counter was taking his order.

"I'll take a hot hay frank with a ten rating," the colt at the counter replied with a smile.

"Make that two," Vinyl said as she approached the colt. His light gray coat and faded white mane didn't match too well in Vinyl's opinion, but he had the courage to explode in a high-class apartment building and then order a hay frank. This was an attitude Vinyl liked, though she wasn't sure if she'd like the stallion.

"Are you sure?" the mare behind the desk asked both ponies, her eyes darting between the two.

"I don't think I stuttered, hesitated or even said 'um.' I'm actually quite sure, thank you," the colt replied in mock indignation.

"Whatever he said," Vinyl added, pointing at him with her hoof.

"Very well," the mare behind the counter said plainly, "that will be eight bits each, sixteen total."

"Just charge it to room 516," Vinyl said before the light gray colt could even look for the bits. The mare nodded then disappeared down a small hallway behind the counter.

"You know I hate owing somepony I don't even know Miss...," the colt said to Vinyl.

"Scratch. Vinyl Scratch," Vinyl supplied as she extended her hoof.

"Everypony calls me Street," the colt replied, taking Vinyls hoof and giving it a hardy shake. "You sure you can handle a ten, Miss Scratch?"

"No clue, but if they're as good as you say you won't owe me anything." Vinyl liked this guy, he wasn't the usual stuck up type that came through nor was he the normal carriage puller that would never dare to enter the building. He wasn't a resident, but she knew that he had been here somewhat frequently from his rant on the hay franks.

Not a minute later the mare returned from the back, carrying a silver tray with two very large hay franks completely coated in condiments. She set the silver tray down then looked at the two. "May Celestia have mercy on your souls," was all she said before tending to the next customer who had walked up.

That made Vinyl a touch uneasy, but she decided to go through with her gamble. She levitated the tray over to a table at the end of the terrace, next to the fence so she could see the revolving doors. She was hoping Sleek would take his sweet time outside. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

"STREET!" Sleek's voice reigned supreme in the massive acoustic echo chamber of a lobby.

"Oh, great. Just when I'm going to be sent to the moon, I'm thrown into Tartarus. Ah well, at least one levels out the other," Street said as he looked at the frank in his hooves.

Sleek stomped up the stairs to the terrace and stared down the unfortunate colt. "We need to be on schedule and you're here having a hay frank! Do you even realize how important this is?" Sleek's voice continued to cross the entire lobby and attract everypony's attention.

"Sleek, relax. The boss won't care if we're a minute or so late. We've got time," Street spoke calmly, though he did his best to avoid Sleek's eyes. "Sleek, this is--"

"Miss Pon-3, I do apologize for my--"

"Apologize? What for? We're having hay franks in a fancy building in the middle of Canterlot. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to try it," Vinyl feigned an air of indignation as she spoke, repressing the laughter that came at the looks of the two stallions. One dumbfounded that she was the guest of honor, the other that she was having a hay frank in the middle of a fancy lobby. The lobby of her apartment building.

Vinyl took one bite from her frank, then everything stopped. Time seemed frozen as the world around her started to warp outwards then inwards, almost in perfect rhythm. By the time Vinyl realized that the beat it followed was her heartbeat, the world had resumed its motion. Vinyl couldn't resist letting out a loud "Woo!" as she felt an extra shot of energy. "What is in that? It's awesome!"

"Pickles, pickle relish, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tomatoes, onions, carrots, daisy juice, tulip juice, an extract of apples, a touch of apple cider, and an infusion of cherry juice directly into the frank itself which has been marinating in a secret sauce for a couple of days." Street had listed everything so fast that Vinyl almost missed it all. "That is a number ten, the most extreme of franks in all of Canterlot, and the best tasting." He took a bite of his own and froze for a few seconds. Vinyl guessed he was experiencing the same thing she had.

"As lovely as that sounds," Sleek's voice dripped with sarcasm, "I believe we have an appointment to get to. Wrap it up, Street."

"Yes, oh great Dotsy Llama!" Street replied as he mockingly bowed at Sleek. Vinyl tried to suppress her laughter. "I will certainly get on it!"

That's when Street's frank suddenly flew off its plate and into a box the gold-maned unicorn had gotten from seemingly nowhere. "Now," Was all he said before he took the box down the stairs.

"Well, looks like I got my lunch. I'd recommend waiting until you're seated again before having another bite," Street told Vinyl through a smile.

Vinyl nodded in silent agreement before following the stuck up tuxedo and the laid back carriage driver outside, her own snack hovering in the air behind her. She liked Street, he was pretty cool.

"After you, madame," Sleek said as he opened the door to a black carriage with golden trim. It had apparently been sitting next to the street without anypony to tend to it. That changed as Street stepped through the reigns and sat, waiting for the sound of the door closing to signal that the passengers were in. The carriage seemed overly done in gold trim in Vinyl's opinion, lacking any other color besides the gold/black palette. Even the interior was black flooring, black walls, black seating with gold trim everywhere. No imagination, no real art! Just plain black and gold!

The ride was about as eventful as the carriage: completely boring. Vinyl finished her hay frank and was sitting across from Sleek Shine the entire time. He never moved, even when the carriage swayed. He was quite possibly the most boring pony ever. Not even Octavia had been this bad when they first met.

The silence dragged on for what seemed like hours as Street navigated the roadways of the city. He made excellent time and seemed to be ahead of most traffic by a few hoofbeats. The carriage rarely stopped, and even when it did it wasn't for long. Still, the ride was a lot longer and more uncomfortable than Vinyl either wanted or cared for. Eventually, thank Celestia, it ended.

The carriage had come to a halt and Sleek opened the door to the sidewalk. He got out first and held out a hoof for Vinyl. She took it as she descended the carriage steps out of politeness rather than need. Vinyl wanted to make a good impression, despite her dislike of the blue colt.

Then her mind stopped as she looked at the building in front of her. The massive structure had been built to resemble a large dome. The first two stories were built from smooth concrete with a black coat of paint. A network of steel beams came out from the concrete base, crisscrossing each other to form triangular shapes all the way to the top. Within these triangular spaces were thick pieces of glass that were tinted so heavily that they reflected the sun. It was impossible to see inside the structure during the day. Directly in front of Vinyl was a smaller half-dome that connected with the main structure. Several doors were inset into the curved wall, each one also curved to keep the look of the small two-story sphere. The doors were made of matte black frames and the same black glass as the dome. Around the large structure where it was not touching the sidewalk were large dirt patches, every one of them playing host to long cables and wires, though they all seemed a bit small to be of any real use. Perhaps they were just byproducts of the interior of the building or were awaiting installation in the ground before it was landscaped.

"Alright, Sleek, I got us here. Now, give me my frank, please," the sound of Street's voice jolted Vinyl from her admiration of the feat of engineering.

"Sleek, just give the guy his lunch," a soft voice came from Vinyl's left. Sleek must have refused at first to merit this but Vinyl heard the haughty stallion's sigh and the cool colt's gleeful laughter as he got his prize. "Good afternoon, I'm Sweets. If you'll wait just a moment, the boss will be with you." The soft voice said to Vinyl.

The source was a pink unicorn who was rather attractive. She smiled at vinyl as she brushed her hoof to her ear, which was hidden behind her neon green mane and baby blue highlights. "I have a guest for her," Sweets seemed to tell herself. "What do you mean she's not here? How could she disappear?" Sweets' voice, despite being furious, was very quiet, something that apparently took a lot of effort to manage.

"Well, usually she disappears by vanishing into a magical portal that transports her to the sun and she takes a lovely walk as she awaits her time for day to arrive once again." A silver mare said as she walked up behind the pink unicorn. Sweets' expression of pure horror caused Vinyl to burst out laughing, landing her flat on her back. The silver mare smiled, finishing her thought. "Or are we talking about somepony a bit closer to home?"

"Ma'am!" Sweets immediately jumped to attention, saluting the silver mare that had walked up behind her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't realize you were there. Oh, I'm terribly sorry!"

"For what? I'm the one who teleported out of the building to get some lunch. Something I see Street got on his endeavor," the boss mare said with a smile. "It's not a problem, Sweets. Just relax, I'm not the usual uptight bosses you've worked for previously. I'm a lot nicer and more lenient, so I tell myself. By the way, the salute is a bit over the top," she pointed out through a chuckle.

Vinyl's laughter had started to die down after Sweets' face had relaxed and she'd let her hoof return to the pavement. Sweets nodded before walking off to attend to some other duty she had, leaving the white and silver unicorns on the pavement. Vinyl wiped the tears that were forming from her eyes as she rolled over and stood up.

The mare that now stood where Sweets had been was perfectly presented. Her silver coat reflected the sunlight that shone on it, much like a mirror does to a candle. Her mane was electric blue, the same as Vinyl's highlights, with thin pale yellow streaks that seemed to multiply as her mane went on, ending in a solid yellow. Her long tail matched this pattern almost perfectly. The mare's mane seemed flat compared to most as it went over her head, growing in volume as it reached her shoulder. Her cutie mark was a looped piece of silver metal that seemed encased in a thin black outline. That didn't mean much to Vinyl.

"Sweets is a good pony, and really good at her job. She just expects any little thing to get her fired again," the unicorn said before turning to Vinyl. "I'm Sterling Silver. I bought the building," the silver unicorn said as she extended her hoof to Vinyl.

"I'm Vinyl, it's nice to meet you," Vinyl replied, taking the hoof in greeting. Vinyl had decided to keep the joking to a minimum around this pony. After all, she was obviously the one paying Vinyl for setup management and holding a rave. Word was that Sterling, Vinyl's now-apparent boss, was hosting the largest rave in Equestria, but Vinyl didn't know the truth of this.

"Why don't we head inside and I'll fill you in on the space and the nuances I've brought in," Sterling said as she motioned Vinyl ahead. Vinyl agreed and headed to the front door, opening it with her magic and allowed Sterling to enter first. Vinyl followed shortly after, looking around the room they'd just entered.

It was just like it appeared from the outside: another smaller dome that sat halfway into the full structure. The small entryway had a clear glass ceiling up to where it met the building. The glass changed to the black tint at this joint and finished its circular motion partway into the main building. The doors around the pair were all curved and were the same black glass with metal frames as the walls. And as if that wasn't confusing enough for the normal pony, the floor had a large black and white spiral, reminding Vinyl of a hypnotist's disc.

Sterling opened a door across from Vinyl and motioned for her to enter. Vinyl promptly did and was hit by something completely unexpected: nothing. The space they entered literally looked like the entryway to one of Vinyl's old apartment buildings, complete with gray carpet and the slightly claustrophobic feel. The walls here were a matte black and totally barren. The ceiling was the most exciting feature, having been made from even more triangular black glass pieces. A single metal pipe with a jagged glass cover seemed to bring light from the space directly above into the room the pair now stood in.

Vinyl looked for stairs around her but came up empty-hooved, guessing it was behind a door on the other end of the room. What kind of pony would build a facility like this and not put in some stairs or an elevator? Sterling just stood there smiling at the white mare as she looked around, guessing what she was thinking.

"I love making things hidden," Sterling explained as she turned on the spot and walked to the other end of the room. Towards a very, very blank wall. "And I love the power of technology, especially its ability to make things hidden."

As Sterling approached the far wall a small section of it seemed to recede a quarter inch then slide upwards. That's cool, Vinyl thought as she followed the mare. Behind the panel was a pair of buttons on a silver plate large enough to fit a stallion's hoof. One with an up arrow, one with a down. Elevator call buttons!

"There are actually six elevators here, but these two are the only ones currently in operation. This is, of course, excluding the freight elevators in the back," Sterling explained as she pressed the up arrow. It lit up in a dull white for a second before the sound of an elevator bell caused it to go out. "Excellent, here we are."

Another panel slid back in the wall, this time the height of the room and wide enough for three ponies side-by-side. It first receded into the wall half an inch then slid to Vinyl's left, away from the call buttons. As the two ponies entered the now-exposed elevator Vinyl could just make out some hydraulics between the wall and the door. The silver door on the inside of the elevator slid closed in the more expected accordion style.

"You know, now that I think about it," Sterling said to nopony, "I could have thought up a grappling mechanism for this side of the elevator to allow the hydraulics to catch the panel. It'd complete the uniform walls very well. Then again, that would just make ponies feel like they're in a small... silver... box." Sterling's voice had a touch of annoyance on the last three words. Vinyl wasn't about to comment.

Vinyl never felt the elevator move or the wall behind them open. It wasn't until Sterling's voice came from behind Vinyl that she noticed the missing wall. "Okay, I lied, I thought about it," Sterling said with a grin.

Vinyl walked out of the elevator into what could have been her best dream ever. The entire third floor of the building was a giant dome. It was a massive, mostly empty area built out of metal frames and black glass pieces. Vinyl looked at the floor she stood on, admiring the feat of engineering. The black tinted glass the floor was built from appeared to be thick as well as quite large. Each pane had enough room for five ponies to stand on top and still be able to move around. The metallic framework that it rested on had portions exposed to the surface. These were flattened out to avoid tripping any ponies that slid their hooves around.

While the floor was amazing, the metallic framework that laced the dome was positively miraculous. The dome's framework did not, as Vinyl originally thought, expand inwards to provide extra support like a normal geodesic dome would. Instead it only had one layer, held up by nothing extra. The framework of the dome had to be very solid to achieve this marvel of engineering, especially given the lack of obvious supports for the dome. Jutting from the metal structure that held the dome in place were several smaller pipes that held an assortment of odd devices. Some only extended outwards a few inches and held strange curved white tubes against the black tinted glass of the dome. Others extended almost to the middle of the space and held five concentric rings in place over the floor.

These major rings spanned the area, all of which were a good fifteen feet from the floor. All the rings, excluding the middle, were held in place by a hoofful of metal beams, almost none lining up with any other.. The central ring was empty, however. Another five rings sat against the dome's curves, each one mirroring its concentric counterpart below in size and position, only they were directly connected to the edge of the dome itself. Various wires and strange equipment hung from the amazing metallic pipes, obviously meant to be set up at a later date.

Vinyl tore her eyes from the massive dome above her and looked around at the rest of the facility. A long bar sat to Vinyl's right against a small section of black wall. It was capable of seating almost thirty ponies, which was how many seats ran along it. Its base was a jet black, complete with gloss for an added flair. It also boasted a glass top with a layer of the same white glass Vinyl had seen earlier directly underneath. Vinyl guessed it was to diffuse some light source inside the bar, but she'd never really seen this kind of glass used before in such abundance.

To Vinyl's left, however, was much more exciting. A dozen or so ponies were working on what appeared to be a circular stage. Wires and cables seemed to be thrown around randomly and parts of the metal framework of the floor seemed to be left open. It wasn't a fancy stage, its height meriting only three steps along the sides. Its size could fit three DJs and their tables comfortably with enough room for two more setups in between. What confused Vinyl, however, was the distance to the nearest wall. The stage had been built halfway to the center of the room. It didn't line up with any feature that Vinyl could see and it definitely didn't belong where it was.

"Ooh, she's cute, boss!" The high pitched voice of a mare startled Vinyl, who turned around. She was glad she had her shades because the source was way too close for comfort. She was also really cute, but that wasn't a thought Vinyl entertained for long. This mare was really close.

She was a pale green unicorn with an even lighter shade of yellow for her mane. Her breath smelled of sweet lilacs and lavender as she spoke. Her nose was extremely close to Vinyl's, separated by only the width of three hairs. Vinyl sat, frozen, as the mare just smiled at her with those bright green eyes.

"Tweet, this is Vinyl. She's the one I told you about," Sterling said with a chuckle. She obviously liked the position Vinyl was in, staring shades-to-eyes at the extremely forward mare in front of her. Vinyl felt a blush start to form on her cheeks.

"Hi! Are you single? And do you like mares?" Tweet didn't budge as she spoke, her eyes flitting between the lenses of Vinyl's purple shades. Vinyl finally snapped out of her frozen state and regained her composure, regaining some lost Vinyl Scratch.

"Sorry, I'm already taken," Vinyl replied. The mare's happy face drooped a bit.

"Darn. Lucky mares always get the good ones," Tweet said as she pouted.

"Vinyl, this is Tweet. She's head of sound and hardware for the place," Sterling finished.

"I never said it was with a--" Vinyl began.

"You didn't need to," Tweet interrupted, gaining a more mature smile, her face still ridiculously close to Vinyl's. "I could just smell it. There's an interesting scent about fillyfoolers like us."

"What's it smell like?" Vinyl's curiosity had returned, blotting out the mare's forward attitude.

Tweet stepped back and sat in front of Vinyl, giving a small shrug. "Kind of like you would expect after a good night," Tweet said with a sly smile.

"Don't let her bait you, Vinyl. Even when a mare is taken, she enjoys the details," Sterling said. "As for me, I have to attend to a minor musing of mine. I just got a glorious idea for the dome, but it needs to be enacted immediately if it is to be ready for opening night on Saturday. Tweet, get Vinyl a microphone and work with her to get the sound system operational. I'm trusting you to be professional."

Tweet nodded vigorously to Sterling, the smile she had making her practically shine. "You got it, Sterling! Professional as I can be!"

Sterling just shook her head before walking off towards the bar, which was next to the red sign that said "stairs" that was just being put up by two pegasi.

"So, you're the famous DJ Pon-3. A lot of ponies would like to have you, y'know. Whomever she is, I hope she realizes how good she has it." Tweet's voice was genuine as she spoke. "So, microphone. You're going to need one. Follow me and I'll get you up to speed on Sterling's most prized device." Tweet walked towards the stage, Vinyl following closely. Vinyl noticed the unicorn's cutie mark was a curving blue sound wave. "Hope you like what you see," Tweet said through another schoolfilly grin, looking back at Vinyl.

"What happened to being professional?" Vinyl replied as she walked. She thanked Celestia again that she had her shades, otherwise that would've been much more awkward.

Author's Note

This was ridiculous.

Thanks to DeathChain01 again for helping me on my learning curve, and being patient with it. :)

Chapter 6 - Advice

Opportunities multiply as they are siezed.
-Tsun Zu

"Fifteen miles out of the city in just under an hour," Doc mused to himself, scratching his chin with his hoof. "That's impressive. Especially without wings."

"My parents had me doing thirty, Doc. It wasn't that hard," Silver replied dismissively. Doc wasn't about to let her finish this particular conversation, though.

"I have to admit," he continued, "While fifteen miles is impressive the fact that you returned was downright extraordinary. Especially after what you told me about your thoughts that night." Doc wasn't lying, either. He was trying his best to hide that sense of pride he had for this pegasus.

Silver had told Doc about everything that went through her head that night. All of it without filter on either end. She'd told Doc about every city she'd visited, every city she'd left and why she left. For a young filly this pegasus had quite the travel history. Probably rivaled the Wonderbolts, definitely rivaled Doc's own travels.

Her first city after escaping her parents and their undefined attitude towards Silver was Fillydelphia. According to Silver it was a nice city. Big for her tastes but she had stayed anyway. That escapade had ended on a sour note, though. Apparently she'd somehow gotten involved in a bar fight with some wealthy, loudmouth stallion that had picked on her size. Doc could pretty much guess that the colt's unwise choice of attention and his actions towards that target probably brought some painful memories from the depths of Silver's mind. She snapped and kicked him through the bar's wall and into the alleyway behind it. He hadn't been killed, which was evidenced by the authorities going after her the next day. She ran out of necessity, which Doc surmised started the pattern of the cities after.

The next city was Maneapolis, the city of lakes. Silver had stayed there for three months, especially impressive given she was a filly on her own. If any pony had figured it out she'd have been packed up and shipped back home, much like a lost bow tie. Doc mentally slapped himself. Focus. As much as you'd like a bow tie, that is not the task at hoof, he thought to himself. Maneapolis, like the city before, ended badly for Silver as well. She had been working in a bar helping fix up some problem they had. It was an innocent job, and the owner paid her well. Too bad the DJ also working at the bar had other plans for her, mostly of the mare-to-mare variety. Silver had turned down her advances, but she wasn't going to let it stay at that. The DJ tried a more forceful approach and had received a broken jaw. It wasn't even Silver's fault that time, but the memories of Fillydelphia drove her out of Maneapolis as well.

The several cities following had also stuck to that pattern. Some stallion or mare trying to take advantage of Silver or, for lack of a refined term, picking on her or forcing her into a fight. The thought of Silver fighting the four colts invaded Doc's mind. He suddenly realized that they had triggered what should have turned into another link in Silver's chain, but they didn't. Not entirely. In fact, those colts would have been hospitalized if Silver had allowed her past to dictate her actions. Instead she merely incapacitated them, then was willingly put behind bars to restrain herself. Doc figured the cell wouldn't have done much good if Silver really wanted to finish the job, but she had kept herself in. Silver wanted to change, and she was slowly succeeding.

Doc's mind returned to the series of cities before Manehattan. Fillydelphia, Maneapolis, San Horse, Horseton, Baltimare, and even New Buck. Silver really got around the last two years, and every city she went to, Silver found the worst kinds of ponies. She had even tangled with a couple of foalnappers that had been rightfully hung from trees like ornaments. Silver assured Doc that they weren't mortally injured. This pegasus has the worst luck when it comes to meeting ponies, Doc surmised. In a land of love and kindness, the one pony who could've really used them could not find them. Then again, she did hang around bars and clubs filled with the strangest ponies Doc knew of.

There had been one city, however, that Silver only mentioned without going into detail. Los Pegasus. It intrigued Doc why Silver wouldn't talk about the city that came before Manehattan. No matter what he asked about it Silver just looked at him and changed the subject. There wasn't even a "that's classified" or "I don't want to talk about it" from the pegasus. Just a complete and total silence beyond stating she was once there. I wonder what she's hiding, Doc thought. He knew he wasn't getting an answer from her, though.

After Los Pegasus, Silver had wound up here in Manehattan. This city had been kinder to her, giving her a passion to follow and a chance to become somepony great. At least, that was what Silver felt when she first hit the turntables. Unfortunately, that dream had ended two nights ago in front of Spectrum Mane. The nicest bar in Equestria, my- ...hoof, Doc thought to himself. He had to watch the language filter even in his own head, lest it spill out in front of the filly before him.

Doc knew that Manehattan no longer had any hopes for Silver, but she still fought her instinct and came back to her friends. It was honestly impressive that, after so many cities and so much running, the pegasus had returned to Manehattan. Doc figured Clipper had something to do with that decision, given Silver's warm way of talking about him. There was something there that couldn't be seen yet. Not until the pain of the city, and the past, was gone.

Doc knew it was against his profession to recommend a patient continue a self-destructive trend, the repercussions alone could lose him his license and get him tossed in jail. And that was before his reputation started taking blows. But Doc knew that Silver couldn't stay in Manehattan. She had to go someplace where she had never gone before. A city that she had never visited, never mentioned.

"Thank you," Silver said after a small pause. She was looking at the floor again, her forelegs crossed beneath her head. It was that moment Doc decided to go for it. Screw his profession and screw his colleagues, his job was to help his patients and that was what he was going to do.

Doc took in a deep breath and held it a moment before plunging into the forbidden zone. "I think you should move to Canterlot." Well that was blunt, Doc scolded himself.

"Sorry, what?" Silver looked bewildered at the Doc's random advice.

Doc shook his head, now swimming down into the dimly-lit void he was in. "I think you should move to Canterlot," Doc repeated. "Take Clipper and move to Canterlot. I've heard that a new club was going up there and they'll be looking for a bright new DJ to tend to their stage." Doc's heart was thumping in his ears, but he kept his expression warm. Oh, I hope no one finds out I'm doing this, Doc thought with a nervous chuckle inside his head.

"Weren't you just saying--"

"I know what I said," Doc interrupted. He visibly winced at his tactless interruption. "Sorry," he tried, this time softer, "but I know I said that it was good you came back. You want to stick out this life, be it good or bad, and I'm honestly proud of that. I've only met you this morning but I'm proud of you. I also know that you will not get a chance to follow your passion if you stay in this city." Doc pointed his hoof to the window. The city of Manehattan was bathed in the golds and reds of a beautiful sunset. "That city is not your future. I don't know how I know, I don't know why I know, but you will make it in Canterlot. I have this gut feeling that you'd be better off there."

Silver shook her head, smiling. Doc was hoping the pegasus wasn't about to jump at him in a screaming rage. Contradictions like the one he'd just made tended to send even stable patients into a minor frenzy. He froze when Silver looked at him again, her silver irises looking at him lovingly.

"No reason beyond a gut feeling?" She asked, a bit of skepticism in her voice. Doc just nodded, unfreezing when Silver let out a sigh. "I've done more on less, I guess," Silver continued, her gaze not leaving Doc's. "I'll talk to Clipper. If he agrees -and I'm not saying he will- I'll consider it."

Doc released the breath he'd been holding. She wasn't going to buck him through the plaster walls and onto the street. That was good. Silver's smile didn't leave, though. It grew into a grin, the kind that a student gave a favorite teacher. If I could tell you the truth, I would gladly do it, Doc thought as he smiled back.

"Alright, watch the tweeter and set her down gently!"

"Aww, Vinyl. I didn't think you cared so much." Tweet had been hitting on Vinyl for the past two days since they'd met. It wasn't anything serious, Tweet had made sure Vinyl knew that right up front. That still didn't stop tweet from getting that schoolfilly grin every time Vinyl said something. Tweet had a way of twisting words that Vinyl couldn't help but admire.

"I always care!" Vinyl retorted, keeping her eyes on the small black speaker being attached to the metal frame. "Why would you think I didn't?"

The sound of Tweet's soft laughter came from Vinyl's left, causing the white unicorn to smile. While she was taken, Vinyl had to admit hearing the other unicorn laugh was pretty cool. It made Vinyl smile, though she didn't show it.

"A little to the left," Vinyl spoke to the green unicorn. The small speaker moved an inch to Vinyl's left, the bright green aura shimmering around it. Tweet was head of Hardware and Sound, a title well earned, making her in charge of setting up the sound system in the large club. A club that had become far busier since the first time Vinyl had entered it.

That first day only had a hoofful of ponies working in the club, all of them dedicated to the mobile stage. Vinyl couldn't resist grinning when the stage had moved the first time. Tweet had leaned against it and somepony forgot to enable the brakes. The green unicorn had received a bruised knee, but shook it off pretty well.

Monday had been a kicker, though. When Vinyl had shown up again to work with Tweet there were fifty or so ponies all working on parts of the club. A dozen pegasi floated around the dome and the rings it held. The rest had been busy either lifting glass panes from the floor and going under or bringing in new equipment for the club's underside, the space under the floor of the dome, from the freight elevator into the main club area. The place had seemed impressive to begin with, but once Vinyl saw the lights being tested that night it had changed everything. It was going to change the scene of nightclubs everywhere!

"Look out below!" A gruff voice yelled from above.

Vinyl looked up, then immediately jumped into action as a large piece of pipe, a quarter section of the second dome ring, came right at her and Tweet. Vinyl pushed Tweet to one side, watching the massive pipe get closer and closer. It was large enough to crush Vinyl head to tail if it had landed on top of her. Vinyl leaped forward, hoping she could get far enough away from the falling pipe. It landed with a loud CLANG, the vibrations being sent up Vinyl's hooves from the glass. Vinyl was temporarily deaf from the impact, and felt like a maraca in Mareico.

Vinyl stood up slowly, her ears beginning to ring loudly. She shook her head to try to get rid of it. The ringing reminded her of when ponies blew out speakers, which also tended to rupture eardrums in her line of work.

"Vinyl! Vinyl!" Tweet's voice started to fade in as the ringing died.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Vinyl waved her hoof dismissively as Tweet put a hoof on her shoulder. "Sadly the speaker isn't."

"Speakers can be replaced. You can't be," Tweet said with a smile.

"Everypony alright?" A bright yellow pegasus said as he alighted on the ground in front of Vinyl and Tweet.

"I'm fine," Vinyl replied.

"Surprisingly," Tweet said with a flow of ill-disguised anger. "What in the hay happened up there?!"

The pegasus had a scared expression. Tweet wasn't exactly a fan of stallions to begin with, something Vinyl had found out Monday. She bristled like a cat whenever one got close. Vinyl had never mentioned it nor asked about her apprehension of the opposite gender. Add on top of that the falling pipe, Tweet was not happy.

"We lost the master support cable from the winches. It must have snapped under the weight," the pegasus replied, his eyes darting between the two mares.

"Didn't Sterling ask you guys to use backups with the main support?" Vinyl asked before Tweet could jump on the opening. Vinyl counted the stallion lucky that she was there to intervene, given the expression on Tweet's face. The white mare imagined her new friend could, and would, probably put him in the hospital otherwise.

"They broke instantly," the pegasus said to Vinyl, obviously happy he didn't have to deal with the fuming green unicorn. "They were supposed to be able to take the weight, but this frame is a lot heavier than its predecessor."

Tweet took a deep breath and waved the pegasus off. He took back to the air quickly. Several other pegasi had begun wrapping more cables around the large hollow pipe that now sat behind the pair. It was much larger than Vinyl had thought initially. The interior could hold a pony with a bit of room to spare, though the entire space was supposedly going to be power conduits and heavy wiring. Apparently it and its fellows that were replacing the old rings had an extra job beyond just supporting the lights from the main dome structure: they also provided power for the club. Vinyl had been promised a full technical explanation of everything before opening night, though she was learning about a lot of things beforehoof.

Sterling was apparently a technological master, designing and building electrical marvels that surpassed anything Equestria had ever seen. Everything she'd built was being used in this club as a place to show it all off to the world. The rave that Vinyl was going to DJ for was Sterling's way of presenting her greatest works and achievements. Even stuff she'd come up with on the fly was in here, like Sterling's latest brainchild.

The newest idea Sterling had was a redesign of the club's dome. She wanted the dome to be able to open to the world outside, which was a major feat of engineering. The upper rings that had originally been installed were being removed and replaced with versions that could accommodate the new design. Even Vinyl understood how massive this undertaking was, especially given the three dozen or so ponies that were making it happen. The dome was sectioned into four quarters, each one folding outwards like a giant flower. Way outside of normal technological means, just like Sterling herself. Whether it would work or not was up in the air.

Tweet groaned and Vinyl could see her visibly relax. It had been a long day for both of them, Celestia's sun having left the sky an hour ago. The two had been putting up tweeters everywhere in the club that wasn't being renovated. While the tweeters were about the size of Vinyl's hoof they were a lot heavier than they looked and took a lot of magic to keep aloft as they were positioned. Tweet had mentioned that the internal wiring absorbed any magic used on the speakers, meaning more energy was needed to manipulate and move them. Add to that the sound some of them without filters made when they absorbed the magic, it was a really difficult job. The two had taken turns at it so the other could recover a bit while they worked.

"Give me a minute," Tweet said as she walked over to the busted speaker box. "I'll have this fixed in no time."

Vinyl just followed. She hoped that Tweet could quickly repair the small speaker and keep the two of them on schedule for opening. Vinyl didn't want to fall behind for her biggest gig ever.

Tweet knelt down and looked at the speaker itself, holding it in her hooves to preserve what magic she had left. "Well, the wiring's undamaged. Looks like it was just the casing that took a beating," Tweet stated as her horn lit. The other parts of the casing hovered over to the unicorn as she melded them back together. "We'll have to keep an eye on this one, though. In case I missed something." Tweet's horn went out as she took another deep breath. "I haven't used this much magic since I set up Sterling's parents' sound system. A pair of real nitpickers, those two."

Vinyl focused on the speaker, her pale blue aura surrounding it and floating it out of Tweet's hooves. "Last one, right? Might as well get it done." Vinyl wasn't sure if she could hold it for long but she wanted this finished. The sub woofers were tomorrow's agenda and then Vinyl and Tweet could test the most powerful sound system in Equestria. That was Vinyl's number one goal, and she wasn't about to be delayed.

Tweet nodded as she stood up. Her own horn lit in its bright green and the pair guided the speaker back to its mark. The combination of blue and green auras pulsed as the speaker was slowly lowered onto the thin metal frame. The hook in the back bent outwards before snapping into place, signaling that the speaker was now ready for bolting.

Both auras simultaneously expired as the two unicorns fell onto the floor, exhausted from the long day. Tweet's voice conveyed the exhaustion that the pair felt in full.

"You know, Vinyl, as much as I love this job I have to say that it is a pain when something this big comes along. I'd never be able to do it on time by myself, so thank you for helping."

"Yeah, it is a bit tiring. But look at the bright side," Vinyl said, keeping the optimistic view she'd gained the past couple of days. "When this is done we can have a party of our own!" Vinyl tried to raise her hoof into the air, making it halfway before falling flat. "Okay, victory party after a good rest."

This elicited a laugh from Tweet. "Hey, you know this place has its own overnight rooms?"

"We're not sharing a room, Tweet," Vinyl stated plainly.

"Aw, killjoy," Tweet giggled. Vinyl just glared at her, though it was ineffective due to her shades. "Are you trying to glare at me? Because the shades aren't really helping your case." Tweet's voice held some feigned indignation this time.

"Yes, I am," Vinyl stated simply.

"Allow me," Sterling's voice came from right behind Vinyl. Tweet's face fell into a fake frown in response to Sterling's glare, which Vinyl sadly couldn't see. The three of them shared a chuckle after a few seconds. "I trust things are... Going... Why is my new power condenser sitting on my nice, unscratched floor?" Silver's voice was calm, though the hint of annoyance was evident.

Vinyl tried standing on her hooves again, barely making it. Man, I feel like I downed a bottle of pure cider, Vinyl thought to herself as she attempted to stay balance.

"Whoever is in charge of the 'Beam Team,' please come down and see me. Now," Sterling emphasized the last word in her usually kind way. The kind of way that tells you that she's not a happy mare. Even more emphasized by the few working speakers that projected her voice.

Sterling was wearing one of her 'microphones.' It wasn't exactly a microphone so much as a headset capable of sending and receiving sounds via magically enchanted crystals. Vinyl had gotten the chance to coordinate with Tweet using a pair on Sunday and she was pretty impressed. The sound it received was clean and clear, much like her wired headphones she used for gigs. The device was really easy to use, too. Just flick your ear in one direction and it changes the channel up a color and the other direction for down. The headset Vinyl got to use was especially made for the DJ, having a full headset rather than just a single ear piece, when the club was finally open so she really tried to absorb everything Tweet had told her about it.

There were only a small number of these headsets so Vinyl couldn't reclaim hers once Monday approached. Each one was devoted to team leaders working on the construction project, one to Sweets to coordinate the entire operation, and the prototype that Sterling used. Sterling's headset was the smallest, most complex piece of the entire bunch. They were all a small metal disc, about the width of a beer bottle, with a set of metallic clamps that softly hooked onto an ear. A large red button took up the bottom side of the disc to allow anypony to control the clamps. A small silver bar came from just above this button and curved down to in front of the user's mouth. It had a series of specially-enchanted crystals a small distance up from the end, just within the pony's field of view, that could change color depending on the channel the headset was connected to. It was impressive technology, even if it was half run by powerful enchantments.

The yellow pegasus from earlier hesitantly floated down from above, alighting between Sterling and the frame. Her face showed no anger, though this did not stop the stallion from being uneasy about being called down by the sole owner of the club he was helping prepare.

Tweet walked over to Vinyl, who could feel the muscles beneath the pale green coat tense up again. "This is going to be good," Tweet whispered to Vinyl. Vinyl suppressed a grin.

"May I ask why my power condenser is currently lying on the floor?" Sterling began, pointing her hoof at the not-at-all-small target.

"The winches you are having us use lost their strength and the cables--" The yellow stallion was interrupted by Sterling raising a hoof.

"The motors I told you to run only while the sun was out?" Sterling's voice held more annoyance this time. Her eyes, however, were cold. Deep voids of electric blue with not a single emotion written in them. The stallion, however, was on the verge of quivering in his imaginary boots.

"Um, I guess so. I honestly--"

"And you ran them for an hour after the sun went down? Do you not get that this facility is currently dependent on the small number of solar cells that lace the entire framework of this dome? And now, thanks to you and your crew draining my capacitors I cannot test the Lux? Which, by the way, also drains us of what precious little time remains until opening night when the Lux is required to work?" Each rhetorical question came with more and more force behind Sterling's voice. She kept perfect composure, though, only narrowing her eyes to emphasize her tone.

After a moment, Sterling let out a sigh, letting her body relax a touch. "Tell your team to pack up. I expect the condenser up first thing tomorrow morning after the sun is up. Do I make myself clear?"

The pegasus nodded, uttering a "yes, ma'am" before shooting back up, his wings beating furiously.

"Awww," Tweet's disappointed voice came from Vinyl's left, "I wanted to see his feathers get ruffled." Vinyl turned in time to see Tweet's pouting face again. She was such a foal.

"If these pegasi are the best crew for this job out there, I would hate to meet the worst." Sterling looked at Tweet with a soft smile. "Much as I would love to satiate your desires, Tweet, I cannot afford to lose this team with the opening night so close. There is still a lot of work to be done, but in the end it will all be worth it."

Vinyl silently agreed. The news of the grand opening of Sterling's greatest accomplishments was everywhere in the city, from gossip columns to newspapers and everything in between. They all wanted to know what Sterling had planned for her 'biggest project ever,' as Octy's magazines had called it. No pony outside even knew what Sterling's project was called, but Vinyl guessed it was the 'Lux' that the big boss unicorn had devoted her attention to for the past few days. Only Sweets, Sterling, and the odd yellow unicorn that worked under the floor knew exactly what it was, and they weren't going to share. Vinyl was just looking forward to being on that mobile stage come Saturday night.

"You two look really beat," Sterling said with another small smile. "What do you say to dinner on me?"

"Oh, yes! And I know exactly where we can go!" Tweet replied in her normally giddy way.

Sterling smiled, already knowing which restaurant the pale green unicorn had in mind.. Vinyl just nodded, giving up on an attempt to keep her smile. She was completely beat, as Sterling had said, but a free dinner was too good an offer to pass up.

"And here we are. 'La Pouliche Rose.' I have a friend who works here, though he'll probably be off now. He works the lunch shift," Sterling stated to Vinyl and Tweet as they stood in front of the restaurant.

It was a single restaurant in a string of them along the road. The double doors set into the brick building before them were ornately carved redwood, a golden handle adorning each one. On either side of the doors were frosted windows, glowing golden from the lights inside. It had no real discerning features besides the sign of a cute pink filly in a chef's hat that hung over the sidewalk.

Silver pushed open the door into a hallway bathed in golden light. The other two followed closely, glad to be out of the cold night air and into a very warm building. The hallway was short, but had on its walls at least a dozen pictures of royals and rich ponies. At the end was a single pony sitting at a podium in front of a pair of redwood doors, these ones with silver handles. Vinyl's hooves sank into the lush red carpet as she took each step, looking around nervously. She had been in here before, but wasn't quite sure why she remembered.

"Oh, you again." The voice of a high class mare reminded Vinyl of her last visit. She had gotten herself and Octy thrown out of the restaurant, though still wasn't sure how or why. Vinyl was sure she'd been on her best behavior, though that wasn't saying a lot. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We don't serve DJ's or their company," the mare continued. She was a bright blue unicorn who stood behind an equally bright, golden colored podium at the end of the hallway.

Sterling just ignored the comment and raised herself onto the podium, resting her forelegs across the top. She looked at the mare calmly as she spoke, "I'm sorry about that. However, I have a persistent reservation here, and seeing as you have no line out here I can definitely say you have some tables available."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you or your guests in, ma'am," the mare replied with a small upturn of her nose. She obviously had no idea who she was dealing with. The orange-yellow earth stallion in a chef's hat and apron that had slipped into the hallway directly behind the bright blue mare apparently did, however. He raised his forehooves in greeting.

"Sterling!" The stallion's voice held a very heavy Prance accent, "It is so good to see you! It feels like it 'as been such a long time since you 'ave entered my restaurant!" Silver turned to greet the stallion just as Tweet tensed up next to Vinyl again. She was like a cat eying a dog, waiting for it to attack.

"Hey, Chef," Sterling said with a smile. She still rested on the podium where the blue mare now had a surprised look. Vinyl grinned at the mare's apparent blunder. "I was in here last week for lunch, remember? I had a nice talk with you and your nephew."

"Ah, oui! I remember, zough it still feels like many monzs since zen!" Chef suddenly turned to the mare at the podium, "Why are you not seeking out a table for zis lovely mare?" He demanded.

"Her company is not--"

"I do not care if Equestria's most wanted criminal gang, Discord, Nightmare Moon, and zat changeling queen all came in wiz 'er! If zey are guests of Sterling Silver zen zey will be seated wizout any question! Am I understood?" Chef's voice grew stronger by the word, even as Sterling tried to suppress her giggles, which she was utterly failing to do.

The mare behind the podium now had a look of terror on her face while Chef's was turning red. She decided, and rightly so, to just give into the now bright red stallion and disappeared behind the pair of doors. She moved really fast for a high society pony.

"You know, Chef, I could have done that," Sterling said as she returned her hooves to the ground.

"I know, but it is more fun for moi zan for you," Chef replied with a small bow. "I 'ave been meaning to bring my niece out of her uptight attitude. Zough, I must admit I remember zis one well," he walked up to Vinyl, looking her over as he did so. Vinyl just stood there, silently hoping she wasn't about to get her boss and new friend tossed out.

"I remember you told me about that," Sterling said from behind the stallion who was now nose-to-nose with the DJ. His dark amber eyes seemed to pierce the shades that Vinyl wore, making her all the more nervous.

A hoof wrapped around vinyl's foreleg and pulled her out from under the intimidating Prance pony's stare. Tweet smiled as the white unicorn fell into her foreleg, which she then wrapped around Vinyl's shoulder, holding her upright. "She's totally fine, Chef! Not nearly as bad as I am, that's for sure," Tweet said in her filly voice. Vinyl could feel Tweet's muscles were still taught, though she didn't show it.

"I 'ope so," Chef said slowly as the blue mare returned, "because I would 'ate to lose customers because I let in two unstable little fillies."

"Your table is ready for you all," the blue pony stated before disappearing through the door.

Sterling motioned for Tweet and Vinyl to follow. "Go on ahead, I'll be with you in a bit," she said. Tweet pulled Vinyl down the hallway, past Sterling and through the doorway. Sterling and Chef were now the only two in that golden-lit hallway. Several minutes passed before Chef spoke, making sure no pony was nearby to hear.

"'Ave you 'eard from your sister yet?" Chef asked as he walked up to the silver mare.

She shook her head. "No, nothing yet. It's not like her to not send me a postcard or something letting me know she's alright." Sterling sat on the red carpet, looking down at her hooves. The sounds of ponies enjoying their dinner wafted through the partially cracked double-doors. "I miss her, you know. I wish she had stayed a little longer, maybe then I wouldn't have to worry if she's alright, where she is, how she's doing. It's hard, Chef, caring for somepony your whole life then having her suddenly disappear. She didn't even say goodbye."

Sterling forced herself to hold her emotions at bay, keeping them out of her speech and appearance. Her deception grew harder to maintain by the day, though. Sterling's entire career had been built from the need to hide her emotional break, and a lot of good came out of it. She just hoped that fate would throw her the proverbial golden apple.

"I know it is 'ard Sterling, but you must 'ave faith," Chef said as he wrapped a foreleg around Sterling's shoulder. "She is a strong pony, one of ze smartest I've ever 'ad the honor of meeting, and dangerous to boot. You will see 'er again, of zat I 'ave no doubt."

"I know I'll see her again, Chef. It's just that she's always at the back of my mind, no matter what I'm focusing on. I can't stop thinking about her, and I can't shake that empty feeling of not having her around."

"You two share a special bond, stronger zan any siblings I 'ave met. She is on your mind because you spent your fillyhood protecting 'er and caring for 'er when even your parents would not. That kind of devotion does not just go away, and neizer does your sister. You will see 'er again, but it will be when she is ready. Come on, Sterling. You 'ave to try zis new dish zat little protégé you sent my way came up with. I say it is magnifique, but I want your opinion."

Sterling took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts once again. She was, after all, raised in a family that did not outwardly show emotion. It wasn't something Sterling was proud of, but she had to maintain her appearance if she wanted to keep her current ranking in society. Maybe after the club opened Sterling could let go of all her family taught her, but for now she was stuck with those lessons. Someday, I'll just be me. One day we'll both be free, Sterling thought as she followed Chef through the door into the restaurant.

Chapter 7 - Memories

Clack clack... clack clack... The sounds of the train on the rails irritated Silver's sensitive hearing, making it hard for her to sleep. She'd taken Doc's advice after talking with Clipper about her visit with him, leaving out the part about the psychologist being a complete nutcase himself. Clipper's reaction was completely opposite of what Silver had expected. He had literally hopped around the apartment like a little foal hyped up on sugar, screaming "We're going to Canterlot! We're going to Canterlot!" Silver couldn't help but laugh at him. He really hadn't changed in the past two and a half years, or even for the several years she'd known him before she went on the run.

A small green nose tried to bury itself deeper into Silver's neck to escape the cold of the sleeping car. The pegasus wrapped a wing around the shivering filly, drawing her closer under the thin covers. Silver had never mentioned this little pony to Doc knowing he would probably be asking a thousand questions about her; Silver didn't want to answer any of those, she just wanted those memories buried. A part of her, however, would never let them go. No matter how bad Los Pegasus had been, Silver had gotten the little filly out of it. And this little filly pushed her to become a better pony, one Eight could look up to. A pony that the she could be proud of.

The earth filly's name was Eight Beat, a name she'd given herself on the streets. Silver had no idea if she even remembered her original name, but Eight Beat definitely fit the melodic little pony. She had this amazing talent for music that went beyond anything Silver had ever heard, and that was a considerable amount. Eight could turn even the worst piece of music into the most amazing masterpiece. Perhaps the reason why she hadn't gotten her cutie mark just yet was that Eight never got a chance to show her talent.

Silver burrowed into the filly's forest green mane with her snout, giving the pony a small kiss through the tangled mess. The musical little pony was close to Silver's heart, and she couldn't help but show it. The funny part of it was that she'd only had Eight for a couple months, but Silver knew almost everything about her. She and Silver were alone in the world back then, living day to day on very little. Los Pegasus, however, had opened the doors for both of them to have a new beginning.

A new beginning. The words hung in Silver's mind. The beginning for the two of them had been a small park on the side of a mountain. It overlooked Los Pegasus in all its wonder while not being touched by the city's great lights. Silver had found the park completely by accident, out on a flight to help clear her head a little. The stars had been beautiful, shining brighter than ever before. Ever since Princess Luna's return, the nights had been Silver's most favorite time, and partially why she became a night-life DJ when she moved to Manehattan.

Silver had been lounging on a green bench in the middle of a clearing, given an unobstructed view of the city below. Besides the brightness and beauty of the stars, the night had not been different from any other. But when a green filly with amber eyes hopped onto the bench next to her and had said "Hello" in her cheery voice, Silver's world took a turn. A turn that was fraught with more danger than anything Silver had ever experienced. But that turn led her to the train she was on, and the green filly beneath her wing.

"Can't sleep either?" Clipper's voice came from across the dark room in a whisper.

Silver started to shake her head then remembered that, unlike her, Clipper couldn't see in the small, dark room. Nighttime survival was a favorite pastime of her father, who loved to experiment with Silver's unique traits. "No, not really," Silver replied.

"What has you awake?"

"Can't talk about it," the silver pegasus replied plainly. She wasn't lying, she honestly couldn't talk about what had happened in Los Pegasus. She was sworn to secrecy by Princess Luna herself regarding those events.

"Ah, Los Pegasus," Clipper chuckled. "One day, you're going to share."

"Sure I will." Silver stated, her sarcasm more than obvious. "And what is Clipper thinking about?"

"Our Hearth's Warmings we had together," Clipper replied. "I know you remember them. The overdecorated tree in the mansion, the two of us digging tunnels in the snow. Sterling being ever-watchful over the two of us, making sure we didn't set fire to those rocky perimeter walls. I'm still not sure how we managed it the first time. I miss those days, you know?"

Silver nodded to herself, wrapping her tail around the shivering filly. Cold didn't agree with Eight very well and it was a chilly night. "Yeah, I remember those days. I remember we also set fire to the tree that year and my parents were sooo mad. I had to work snow duty for two weeks after that. And all because you wanted a simple cup of punch." The two pegasi laughed quietly at the memory.

"Yeah, those were the times. Just you and me against the world," Clipper said as he held his hoof up. Silver grinned quietly at her friend as he stifled a yawn. "Now it's you (a nutcase), me (a screw-up), and the little fuzzball against the world." Silver groaned quietly at her friend's nickname for Eight. The filly liked it though. Silver never understood why. "Part of me feels we're better off now than we were, and we were pretty well off to begin with."

"Oh, yeah, we were really well off. Your parents traveled eleven months out of the year, almost no cash to speak of, bordering on neglectfulness, and my parents were..." Silver felt her words slow as she said them, "Well, you know what my parents were like,"

"Yep, definitely better off now. Got our own room on a cheap, unheated sleeping car, on our way to Canterlot with only a hoofful of bits and a recommendation from a cellist, looking for a totally fresh start. Living the dream, right?" Clipper's mood suddenly became solemn. "Just promise me one thing, Silver?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave us, alright? I'm not sure what we'd do if you did."

Silver felt a tug at her heart as she looked out the window to the sliver of moon that remained in the sky. She had run from her parents, yes, but she'd also left behind everyone who cared about her. Everyone she cared about. It was a decision she still regretted, but the past is the past and Silver couldn't change it. She knew who she wanted to be, and now she was determined to become that pony.

A soft snore came from Clipper's bed. The orange pegasus had fallen asleep, probably from exhaustion. Either that or Silver lost track of time, which wasn't unheard of.

The silver pony laid her head down next to her little filly's, encircling the foal with her own body, and allowed her mind to wander its untamed thickets. She felt Eight's slow breathing against her neck as the filly's shivering died out, sending small chills down her own spine. The pegasus looked at her little green pony, now peacefully asleep within her embrace, one more time. Silver closed her eyes and let her mind continue its aimless wandering, slowly slipping into her own land of dreams. It really was a chilly night...

By Luna, I really need to rethink these late nights, Sterling thought to herself as she magically unlocked the white door in front of her. 'By Luna.' Hahaha, I still can't believe I've held onto that. Sterling chuckled inside her own head as she looked up and down the wide, dark hallway she stood in. She'd lived here for almost three years, and it still felt like home to her. By day ponies would walk up and down it looking at the various works of art and tinkerers' toys that were lined up along the edges. At night, there wasn't a single peep to be heard throughout the entire building.

Every day the residents of these apartments would try to get somepony to look at their wares, hoping to be spotted and hired for their talent. The ruckus they each made was amazing, especially when somepony not of the apartments walked by. Sterling had once been one of those ponies, though her means of going about showing her wares wasn't as enthusiastic as most of the other residents. While they screamed and hollered at the various ponies that came through, Sterling quietly let her small machines run on her table, always lit by the sun through the glass ceiling of the hallway. She let her work speak for itself and it paid off quickly.

Word of Sterling's solar powered machines rolling and, in the only case of what she thought was her stupidest idea at the time, walking around on her table had spread rapidly throughout the city. Soon enough ponies from everywhere came to see Sterling's little marvels. Ponies were amazed that such small devices didn't need magic to work, that they could be powered by the sun itself. A small business owner offered Sterling a chance to mass produce her toys to sell to everypony in return for a small percentage of the profits. That was step one, and from that point her name became synonymous with technological innovation and solar power.

Sterling had never left her studio apartment despite the amount of fame and fortune she quickly accrued. She didn't think her ego needed the boost, and the unicorn was content with her choice of home. It was humble, quiet during the nights and she didn't run into paparazzi around here. The artists alone kept them away with their bickering and paint-based wars. It was peaceful for Sterling, though at times it was eerily quiet.

Sterling pushed the white metal handle on the door and it swung open, revealing her home for almost three years. The white tile floor showed signs of age and damage from heavy metal being dropped on it repeatedly. Three walls and the ceiling were sheetrock, sporting black burns and impressive dents from various failed experiments. The wall farthest from the door had been replaced with window panes, from the floor to the three-story ceiling. The largest scorch mark could be seen on the ceiling, near the center, a warning to anypony that wanted to anger Sterling in her own home.

Out of the center of the right wall, hanging two stories above the floor and several feet from the windows and front of the room, sat a large, steel balcony that had been constructed soon after Sterling had found her fortune. The unicorn had always wanted a more humble place to live when she was at the Silver Mansion so she asked the landlord if she could have it installed. It was a very reasonable negotiation between the two that ended in the owner getting a guarantee that Silver would pay the costs for its installation, which she happily agreed to.

The platform was solid steel, the railings along the three edges painted a dull red. Sheets of metal took their places within the railings, ensuring nopony fell off by accident. Sterling had opted for the solid sides instead of a fence mesh purely for aesthetic reasons, though she admitted to herself some privacy was nice from time to time.

Along the balcony's length sat three different sections, the border of each only noted by the change of flooring and furniture. A bedroom, playing host to a small bed and two nightstands, occupied the side closest to the windows of the apartment. The white carpet was pristine, showing no signs of age or wear due to its very diligent caretaker. The edge of the bedroom section that hugged the wall also held a steep, wooden ramp that slid down under the rest of the balcony, eventually meeting the main floor below. The ramp showed lots of use beyond its years, sporting many hoofmarks from ponies traversing its length.

A kitchenette took up the center section of the balcony and was equipped with an oven, fridge, and a single stove top. The laminated tiles were polished to pristine quality, and the small cupboards and sink were equipped with neon tube lights to provide illumination to the small area. Sterling didn't know why there were neon lights in the kitchen sink; perhaps it was from the late night of partying and not-so-reserved drinking she had prior to planning out the kitchenette.

On the end opposite the bedroom was a small sitting room, equipped with a lush, red carpet and crimson couch. A floor lamp sat in the corner farthest from the wall, standing ready to illuminate anypony that wanted its assistance. That light had seen many a war between Sterling and others, but it still stood in its place, ready for duty at a second's notice. A redwood door was placed within the wall from this sitting area, across from the lamp, that lead to a miniature bathroom. No residence was complete without a bathroom that was easy to get to.

Down below there were a dozen desks placed randomly about the main floor of the studio, each one with a single yellow crystal embedded into the back edge. Some desks had renders of various mechanical creations magically displayed above them while others held finished products awaiting shipment. These were Sterling's work stations, the places where she would brainstorm then create her technological marvels. The crystals allowed her to design the device in real-time before actually starting work on the physical form. They were her answer to blueprints, which she never liked using. "Flat paper, flat results" Sterling had said originally. Her partner, on the other hoof, needed them to replicate Sterling's designs. So they reached the compromise where Sterling would create a device they needed and her partner would have a special team disassemble them to scrawl out blueprints, so long as they put the original back together. Sterling put a bit of soul into every piece of work; she wasn't about to let it lay in pieces in some dustbin.

The unicorn looked about the large room, her eyes using what little moonlight came in from the windows across from her to see everything. Nothing held its color or its shine in this dim light, but Sterling could still see the silhouettes of her devices sitting on the tables. The floating 'yellowprints', as Sterling called them, were glowing a soft yellow as they slowly revolved in midair. Such a large room and so little light to illuminate it.

Sterling sighed and walked towards the ramp that came from under the balcony, letting the door into the studio swing itself closed and automatically lock. The wooden ramp creaked as the unicorn made her way up, her head held low from exhaustion. Normally Sterling did not have to do any real labor with her projects anymore, but she never felt right about it. She felt like she needed to help even if she was the boss, though her hooves and legs definitely disagreed with her.

Oh, goody. Mail. Sterling thought as she reached the top of the ramp, At least that little enchantment on the door still works. And it's not burnt to a crisp, either. In front of her a magazine lay on the white carpet of her miniature bedroom. She shook her head and picked it up in her teeth, her eyes unfocused as she tossed it onto the bed. Sterling then flicked the switch on the wall, lighting the small open area. The main room over the edge of the balcony remained dark, swallowing any light that dared to travel too far. The unicorn climbed onto the unkempt gray sheets strewn across the bed, uprighted the magazine in her hooves, and opened the first page with her snout. Sterling didn't have the strength to use her magic tonight, nor did she want to. Magic was something she was gifted with, but it wasn't something she enjoyed using for simple tasks.

Top ten independently wealthy ponies of Equestria. Where they live and what they're like, Sterling read the title in her head. Why are they sending this to me? Sterling turned the pages of the magazine one by one until she found the cover story and began browsing.

What follows are various reporters of Vaneigh interviewing the top ten richest ponies and their employees, assistants, and families. Reporters include the infamous Snap Shot, the tantalizing Miss Feather, and even one article from Quill Slick herself.

Richest pony number 1: Filthy Rich, lives in Ponyville, respects the elderly, etcetera etcetera. Rich is a good pony, he knows where he is.

Richest pony number 2: Uptight snob of a pony, good publicity though, blah blah blah. Big, hot-shot reporter interview, yadda yadda yadda. Don't care, moving on.

Richest pony number 3: Sterling Silver. Wait, what?

Sterling shook her head as if to wake herself from some dream. She stared at her name on the page, under "Richest pony number 3:" She was wealthy, Sterling knew that, but she didn't realize she was the third richest pony in Equestria, excluding corporations and families. That was, of course, according to this gossip magazine which probably didn't cover a lot of bases with their research. That still did not stop them from putting her on this list, though. Sterling focused intently as she turned the page to her name, curious as to what the article had to say about her.

Sterling read the article, whispering each word as she did so. "Sterling Silver, a young mare from the Silver Family estate in the west, currently lives in a studio apartment in the Artist's District, an apartment building devoted to the arts and talents of ponies and a ripe location for finding excellent talent.

"Sterling Silver began her career with small business owner McBrinks-- 'McBrinks'? That's one point against this reporter. The guy's name was Max Blink, best business partner I could have ever found," Sterling said proudly, though quietly, to herself. "Guy gave me my lucky break and I don't think he's ever regretted it." Sterling returned to the article. "So, started with Max Blink, not 'McBrinks,' let's see what else we have here."

Sterling silently skimmed over the various sections of the article, making sure the reporter had gotten her facts straight. She covered the exposition in Los Pegasus, that was a fun one, the commission by Princess Celestia herself, classified of course, general work day, work ethic, interview with--Sweets?

Sterling sat up from the lazy position she had been slowly sinking into. The name of her friend on the page stood out to her and she returned to intently reading the article.

Miss Sweets, the personal assistant to Miss Silver, finally agreed to an interview after two months of my asking and the promise that her words are written down in their entirety, in context. As my loyal readers will know, I am not a newspony that usually takes a statement out of context and so I promptly agreed. The loyalty to Miss Silver is far more impressive than any I have seen before, and her description of her employer, no more than twelve years her junior, was nothing if not glowing. What follows is the Question and Answer session I had with Miss Sweets over a delightful lunch.

Sterling turned the page.

Quill: "What is working for Sterling like?"

Sweets: "Absolutely wondrous. Sterling is unlike any employer I have had before and she doesn't talk down to myself or any employee. It feels like, and is, a complete one-eighty from my previous jobs."

Q: "What kinds of jobs have you had before and how does that translate to working with Sterling?"

S: "Well, my specialty is pony interaction and public relations, but the jobs I've had range from door-to-door salespony to personal assistant of Prince Blueblood himself. I started when I was very young and have gained a lot of knowledge over the course of my life.

"It all translates to working for Sterling by giving me a level of autonomy. If Sterling asks me to get something done I can do it. She has me doing almost everything from managing the construction workers of her first major project to assuring that she maintains her schedule during the day. Some days I'm actually run down to the bone (Sweets' attitude here is light and giddy for reader's clarity) but it's the best job I could have ever hoped for. I would not trade it for the world."

Q: "And if you cannot get her requests fulfilled?"

S: "Well, that depends on the cause. Sterling, unlike many of my bosses before, is a pony that pins blame where it belongs. If I make a mistake then I receive the repercussions, though I have yet to be fired. If it's a mistake of another pony, Sterling won't allow anyone else to take the blame and will ensure that the pony or company responsible is held accountable.

"I have made mistakes working with her, but she hasn't fired me because she realizes, unlike many other ponies in her position, that one pony can only do so much. I always give her 150% of my best and I know that Sterling appreciates it, even if I do get the wrong color ink for her pen."

At this point our conversation turned to more personal matters which I will not be writing about within this article. I had one more question, however, before our lunch ended. It was one that you, my readers, have been dying to know and so I asked it for you.

Q: "My readers are wondering, Miss Sweets: what is Sterling herself like?"

This elicited a large smile from Miss Sweets, something I found intriguing when talking about her employer.

S: "Sterling is mostly like you or me, just a bit overly proper. She enjoys jokes, she laughs and smiles, and she has a heart. Sterling is the kindest pony I've ever met, and I've met a lot of ponies in my lifetime. Most of the ponies I've worked for over the years wouldn't give a soul on the street a second glance if they came up. I've seen Sterling take time out of her day, out of a completely packed schedule, to talk with fillies and colts that just walk up to her out there. (Enter proud grin) I've even seen Sterling actually help out a few of them. Don't get me wrong, Sterling Silver is not a pony that gives hoofouts; she won't just give money to anypony off the street. No rich ponies do anymore. Instead she does something that nopony, especially the rich ones, would do: she gives them a chance. Sterling gives ponies down on their luck a chance to get a job, a chance to make something of themselves. She doesn't give hoofouts which are one-time deals; she gives hope which lasts lifetimes.

"The biggest thing you must know about Sterling Silver, if you or your readers ever meet her, is that Sterling believes in respect above all else. So long as you respect her she will return in kind, even if you do not see eye to eye. Even if you're both complete opposites, if you respect Sterling Silver she will give you her attention, she will give you a chance. She's honestly the best pony I've ever worked for, and I'm proud to say I am her employee, her personal assistant, and her good friend."

... I know you, my loyal readers, can't feel the emotions behind those words; you only have my written word that they were truly powerful. I have rarely found an employee that is this genuine in the praise of their employer, and despite being the third-richest pony in Equestria, richer than even Prince Blueblood himself, Sterling has gained the loyalty and friendship of two ponies at this table. One of which she has never met, but I hope someday she will.

To my loyal readers, though numerous you may not be, I will write this: Sterling Silver is a pony to be respected and admired. She's the very example of what our rich side should be like rather than what it is.

This is Quill Slick, newsmare of Vaneigh, signing off on another chapter.

Richest Pony number 4: --

Sterling looked at the magazine still held in her hooves, slowly processing what she just read. She knew Sweets had thought highly of her but never knew she thought that highly. The silver unicorn couldn't help but grin as she reread the Q&A again, a sense of joy filling her within.

"Wow, Sweets. I never thought of it like that," Sterling quietly said to the magazine, "I always thought I was just giving chances at a better life. I never considered myself as a bringer of hope. Shows how egotistical I really am, right?" Sterling chuckled to herself. "I guess someday I should meet some reporter or another. Maybe this Quill Slick, assuming you give her high marks."

Sterling looked off over the head of her bed, out the window of the studio apartment. The sliver of a moon was barely visible through the large panes of glass. Its silver light made Sterling think of the flame of hope; a flame that she, a Silver, the heir apparent to the Silver fortune no less, apparently spread to the world. Sterling wasn't going to stop, either. It felt too good.

Sterling Silver, the Fountain of Hope, the unicorn thought as she lay her head on her forelegs and let herself drift off to sleep. Yeah, just what I need: a boost to my ego.

"Quick. Get up, Quick."

The pegasus groaned, pulling the covers further over her head. She didn't want to get up, same as most mornings anymore.

"Seriously, Quick?" Sterling asked as she pulled the covers from the filly's hooves. "Today is the day you decide to sleep in? Really?"

Sterling's sister sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was still groggy from yet another sleepless night. The nightmares had started just a month before, and each night since they'd gotten worse. Sterling actually moved her little sister's bed into her room, though the filly hardly used it any more. Silver always felt safer nestled next to her big sister.

Sterling's room was the quintessence of royalty, being grand in scale and ornate in design. The solid redwood floor was polished and waxed to the point that only the most skilled ice skaters could stand on it. From soft white walls hung some of the greatest works of art from various historical artists, the cheapest of which could buy a large house in Canterlot with all the trimmings. Flanking these masterpieces were marble columns, two set halfway into each wall, that shone as bright as the sun they reflected. A single queen bed sat between two grand windows opposite the opulent oak doors. Two dressers with full-sized mirrors stood guard over the entrance to the room and a large royal red rug with golden laces sat beneath the bed, allowing the occupant a cushioned experience in the morning. The Silvers were a very rich family, and they enjoyed showing it off.

To one side sat a single white door, blending in with the walls, that led to a closet the size of an average hotel room. It held very little in the way of clothing, but for Sterling's parents it was the idea that counted. An equally large bathroom sat across from this closet, heralding direct access to the balcony pool outside. Sterling was the definition of a privileged filly, but she never let it go to her head.

"Yeah, you try not sleeping for more than an hour a night for a month, see if you feel like getting up," Silver retorted, lightly jabbing her hoof towards the unicorn. A small pain shot up the back of Silver's neck and she quickly put her hoof on it, rubbing the spot as the muscles relaxed. A downside to having extreme reflexes was that cramps were especially painful, though they did not last long.

Sterling just shook her head, a warm smile gracing her lips. Sterling was only three years older than Silver but she was forced to act far more mature. Mainly because she'd taken the responsibility of raising her little sister early in her own life. Their parents had wanted to put Quick Silver up for adoption the moment she was born solely because she was a pegasus. Sterling, however, did not want to give up the little foal. It took seven royal guards, unicorns no less, to suppress her tantrum. Even then her anger with her parents broiled within that magical barrier, waiting to be released. She may have only been three, but she wasn't about to let the little foal she'd wanted to meet for so long be taken away so quickly. Her parents agreed that if Sterling took responsibility that they wouldn't put her up for adoption. The unicorn quickly agreed and had never regretted a second of it, though it did have its challenges.

Silver reached towards the nightstand for her baby blue shades. Sterling put a hoof on top of her sister's, gently pinning the pegasus to the nightstand. "Remember you promised me no glasses today?" Sterling looked into Silver's eyes. Many ponies found them unnerving, which led to a lot of teasing for the pegasus. Add to that her smaller size, Silver had some serious issues with bullies. And even if Silver dealt with those bullies she'd have to deal with repercussions for her actions, most likely ending in six months of physical therapy for the bullies, which meant a no-win for her. The pair's parents would not press the administration of Silver's school to do anything about it, which they needed to, making it harder for the pegasus to even walk the halls in peace.

Silver looked at the ground, averting her eyes from Sterling's. The unicorn, however, put a hoof under her sister's chin and brought those silver pools up to meet with her own electric blue irises. No matter what anypony said, those eyes were the most beautiful Sterling had ever seen.

"Do you even remember what today is?" Sterling asked the pegasus, her hoof still under Silver's chin. The little filly shook her head a little, not letting her chin slide off her sister's hoof. Sterling let out a chuckle as she pulled her sister in for a hug. Silver quickly returned it, wrapping her hooves around Sterling's neck. "Happy Hearth's Warming, kiddo," Sterling whispered.

The filly tightened her grip so much that Sterling found it hard to breathe. Before the unicorn could do anything, however, Silver had let go, shot off of the queen sized bed and was out the double doors on the other side of the room. "Excited little bug, isn't she?" Sterling quietly said to herself as she recovered from her sister's enthusiasm.

Sterling trotted to the doorway, always keeping herself in proper form should her mother decide to appear out of thin air. Silver Tongue wasn't especially good at magic, and as such couldn't teleport. Actually, that would have given Sterling plenty of warning if she could. The loud crackle of magic, the midnight blue light and the magical orb that had to dissolve. With Sterling's training with Silver honing her own reflexes she would have easily reacted to any unexpected teleport. Sadly for Sterling her mother always appeared out of thin air sans magic with her cold, sapphire eyes. The same sapphire eyes that made even the coldest tundra of the north look like a tropical paradise, if not a trip down an active volcano.

Sterling took a deep breath as she descended the overly expensive marble steps to the first floor. The banister had green tinsel hanging from it that gently sparked as the unicorn passed, an enchantment she'd done herself. It was a little surprise she had cooked up. Sterling reached the first floor and looked at the, again, over-opulent marble door. Normally ponies didn't use marble for their doors, but her parents loved the look of the rock and had done anything and everything they could to make it appear the house was made of the stuff. It wasn't, but the slabs of marble that were stuck to the house's sturdy steel frame made it appear so.

Sterling sat at the base of the stairs for a moment, looking out the tall windows that flanked the front door. The snow outside rose three quarters of the way up the doors, which were raised several steps from the ground. It was an impressive amount and the weather team definitely outdid themselves. Sterling made a mental note to thank them for her parents, who had requested a bit of extra snow for their fields. The two of them never thanked anypony unless they were in the company of their 'equals,' but they always did pay their debts.

The sky was clear, its light blue color giving Sterling a happy feeling as she decided to follow the sounds of a squealing filly in the next room. And here I thought Silver would at least tone it down a little, Silver thought with a grin. Her sister's antics were always well natured even if they did go a bit over the top.

Sterling spotted a silver mane in the archway, just in time to lose the grin that she had. She watched her mother's frozen sapphires and bluish-silver coat round the corner into the entranceway. If Sterling didn't know better, she could have sworn her mother's frigid personality had frozen her silver coat into its color.

"Sterling, dear. Please reign in your sister before our guests arrive tonight. I do not wish for them to see her so... unruly. It would not reflect well on your father and I," Silver Tongue said in her usual haughty manner. She had gone all out for the Hearth's Warming party that was scheduled for that evening. Her mane was done in a classic bun and she wore diamond teardrop earrings that hung from delicate silver chains at the base of her ears. Silver Tongue's frosty silver coat had even been glossed to emphasize her cleanliness. The attitude she held, however, wasn't an act.

"I am sure she will be fine tonight," Sterling replied courtly, hiding the animosity she held in her heart for the mare. Sterling knew it wasn't right to hate her parents, but they had earned it when Silver had been born and continued to fan the flames as time went on. "I will ensure that she is prepared and on her best behavior."

Silver Tongue merely nodded before continuing across the entranceway to wherever she was going; Sterling didn't care enough to watch her leave. The silver unicorn walked through the archway her mother originally came from into the large living room.

The room was the same size as Sterling's bedroom, except the white walls were replaced with large marble slabs and the pictures hanging from them were covered in green, red, and silver tinsel. The floor was not host to a red rug, but instead a glossy silver carpet bordered by white tile. Lights were strung about, glowing their unique magical colors. The large window that usually dominated one wall was covered with festive blinds specially designed to look like a brick fireplace. A tree sat in the center of the room, making its way to the high ceiling above where a single, silver streak was flying in circles around a white pegasus figure. The ornamental figure was standing upright on its hind legs and draped in a silver robe, wings outstretched to take flight.

Yep, that definitely got her attention, Sterling thought as she admired the over-decorated tree. Silver icicles and large ornaments of all colors hung from the branches. Rows of magical lights encircled the trunk and all the branches that extended from it, lighting it from within. A fire hazard, but so was using candles, the usual tradition. A single photo of the Silver family in its entirety sat in the center of the tree, facing the entranceway Sterling came from. Over seven hundred ponies in one picture was a feat, but the Silvers were far too self-absorbed to let anything get in the way of their vanity. They had managed a certain pegasus out of the picture, however, which just added to Sterling's pool of rage.

Normally Sterling's immediate family would have a large silver star at the top of the tree, a 'family tradition.' Sterling knew otherwise, though. Her parents had tried to hide the true topper to, in their hopes, discourage Silver from feeling like part of the family. It had not worked to begin with, and Sterling finding the original ornament (the white pegasus in her silver robe) really ruined that plan. Especially since the flimsy silver star mysteriously disappeared right before the tree went up. The staff had no choice but to use the one that was available to them.

Sterling watched as her sister slowed to a stop, hovering in front of the two thousand year old pegasus ornament. Two thousand years, the same age as the Silver bloodline that Sterling had traced. Oldest surviving family in Equestria, second only to the princesses themselves, who were alicorns and as such viewed as immortal. Some research, however, hinted at the Silver family actually being older than even the alicorn princesses, but the credibility was sketchy at best.

"What's her name?" Silver asked from above, still hovering in front of the ornament.

"Bliss," Sterling replied simply from the ground, knowing her sister was asking her. Sterling knew Silver had not missed her mother's request or the silver unicorn's entrance. She missed nothing when it came to sounds, and everypony made a sound in one form or another. "Her name was Bliss, one of the original Silver Diggers," Sterling continued as Silver floated down to land in front of her sister, their eyes locking as her hooves touched the carpet. "Some say that she was the first to discover the original silver mines in the old land." Before the original Silvers stole it from her, Sterling added silently. It's a good thing those Silvers' daughter gave back the mines once she inherited them. "That topper was made by a filly no older than you for Bliss, who was her closest friend."

Silver grinned as she looked up at the topper again. Sterling could not help but share the filly's genuine expression as she wrapped her forelegs across the filly's front, holding the small pegasus close. The embrace only lasted a few seconds, but it felt a lot longer for Sterling. There were times when Sterling questioned if her love for her sister was normal or not so normal. Her family had their skeletons in the closet, and Sterling knew almost every one. That kind of knowledge made a pony think about what they truly feel. The answer Sterling received from her own heart was always the same, however: her love was powerful, much like her magic, but she wasn't attracted to her sister. Sterling's heart wasn't that screwy, luckily for both her and Silver. Some other family members, however...

Sterling pulled her head back as her sister tilted hers upwards, looking at Sterling with those big, silver eyes. "Sooooooo..." Silver started with a smile, "Whadja get me?"

Sterling shook her head, giving the pegasus a little nudge. "That's for you to find out, little sis. Good luck."

Silver's smile turned into that cute little smirk she got whenever she was given a challenge. Silver rarely failed challenges or puzzles, given her encyclopedic mind and sheer tenacity. That pegasus had once spent three months seeking out a hidden treasure from an honest to goodness ancient treasure map. She found it, surprisingly, when she finally turned the map upside down.

"Do I really need luck?" Silver asked, her normally cheerful demeanor now replaced with her almost scary alternate personality.

"Probably not, but it never hurts," Sterling replied as the pegasus closed her eyes. She was focusing on the sounds around them, listening for echoes that shouldn't belong or hollow tapping where there was flooring. Sterling knew it was going to take her sister a bit longer than normal this time. She had hidden the present in a new way, one Silver had no idea about.

So it took Sterling by surprise when Silver's smirk turned into a grin. The pegasus walked off towards the entranceway, her head held high. There's no way she figured it out that fast, Sterling thought to herself as she quietly followed behind. The second Sterling turned the corner, though, that thought proved inaccurate.

Silver was standing in front of the green tinsel wrapped around the banister of the stairs, the magical sparks reflecting off of her eyes as if they were mirrors. Sterling actively hid any body language that would give away the fact that Silver was right. She watched eagerly, however, as Silver lifted a hoof up to her chin.

"You know, sis. I've never seen tinsel do this before," she said through her 'I've figured it out' grin. "I wonder..."

Silver extended the hoof from under her chin towards the tinsel, the magic sparks dancing over it. She inched her hoof closer, feeling the strength of the magic start wrapping around her hoof, pulling her closer. Silver tried to pull back instinctively, but the magical force of the tinsel continued its pull, drawing the pegasus closer.

Not good, Silver thought as she watched the world dissolve around her. The fine marble stairs under her hooves vanished, her sister disappearing in a puff of white smoke. She felt a stab at her heart, but Silver couldn't let it distract her right there and then. This wasn't real. No known Equestrian magic could directly affect her. It was a dream. It had all been a dream. A living memory that was now turning into a nightmare.

The tinsel remained and so did the pull as Silver tried to fight back. A glowing purple ring began to form around her extended hoof, pulling her closer to the now-floating, now-black tinsel. Silver started beating her small wings as her hooves slid across the invisible floor, slowly nearing the tinsel.

The pegasus wasn't exactly scared. She knew it was a dream now. Silver could feel the world around her far more than she should have been able to. She could feel the large sphere she was in, bisected by the solid floor she now scraped against as she fought the black tinsel. She even felt the purple ring around her hoof and the way her coat brushed against it.

The black tinsel suddenly disappeared and Silver flew backwards, her wings still beating against the now dissipated force that drew her in. The pegasus hit the invisible wall behind her, pain traveling its way up her back. Silver closed her eyes and tried to slow her rapid breathing, focusing on slowing her heart as well. The last thing she needed was a shot of adrenaline for something that wasn't real. Adrenaline never made these dreams any better, it only made them last longer.

Alright, this is the first nightmare I've had in a while, Silver thought to herself as she stood on all fours again, still trying to slow her beating heart. She was back to her normal self, the memory she had been living now faded away. I know it doesn't help when I know it's a nightmare. Should, but doesn't. Silver glanced around at the black void around her. Aaaaaaaand this is a new one. Big sphere, sectioned in two. I'm standing on the divider. No obvious doors or openings. Only way out is to proceed. Absolutely wondrous. Alright, Silver, just keep a level head and you should get through this. The pegasus didn't really believe that, though. She knew if this nightmare wanted to it could scare her beyond her wits and it could, in theory, last for years. In reality she would only sleep a few hours, but her perception could make it seem so much longer.

"Filia stellarum, quare vos facitis ausim num hic? Quid quaeritis?" A voice boomed, sending vibrations through the floor that Silver stood on. Her hooves slowly slid apart and she had to keep repositioning them to avoid falling.

Okay, nightmare knows a language that I don't, Silver thought to herself, trying to keep her mind from panicking even more. Not sure how that works. The pegasus decided to respond to the empty void. She mustered what willpower she had and called out "Who are you?"

Silence for seven minutes. Silver counted each second as it passed in her mind, each second that she looked around at the black void beyond her spherical prison.

"The question here is: who are you?" Another voice replied from Silver's right. She jumped, turning to face the source. A single pegasus mare stood in front of her, her silver coat shimmering in the dark. Her black mane and tail were a mess, obviously neglected for several years. The mare's age showed on her face, large wrinkles dominating what had once been young. "Are you a soldier? Perhaps a gondola operator! Or even a baseball player! Oh, I bet you can swing BATS!" A burst of black bats shot up from in front of the mare, causing Silver to pump her wings and jump back further.

Okay, totally not a normal nightmare, Silver thought as she stared at this mare. "Nice trick," Silver heard herself say, "perhaps you could host my birthday party." She had no control over her words. That lack of control added to the fear boiling within her mind. If this nightmare could control her, it could--

"Let the girl talk for herself," the mare replied, looking off to the center of the sphere. "It's not polite to use her as a puppet."

"Okay, this is weird," Silver said out loud, really trying to keep herself together. The fear and panic within her was fighting for control every second, but Silver managed to keep it at bay. If she could just conquer it perhaps she could figure a way to wake up.

"You wish to wake up, but we have only begun." The floor under Silver's feet rumbled again, this time causing Silver to loose her footing and fall flat. There was no pain, but the sudden feeling of a weight on her back kept her on the floor. "What are you, exactly?"

"I-I don't understand," Silver said, her panic reaching a new height. She couldn't move, she could barely keep control of her own mind. She was losing this fight. She was losing control.

Silver looked up, then instantly realized the source of the booming voice was the dark form in the center of the sphere. The one she'd seen the entire time but never registered. It was like black smoke rising from a single hole in the floor and ballooning outwards. The side of the cloud that faced Silver extended, slowly nearing the pegasus as she lay on the floor, unable to move. Silver wasn't one for screaming, but the urge invaded her mind and she pressed it aside, focusing on keeping herself in control of what mental strength she still had. There was still a way out, there always was.

Silver watched as the black cloud dipped towards the invisible floor, touching it and beginning to take a new appearance. It began shaping into what Silver instantly recognized as a pony. The cloud slowly formed itself long, thin legs to stand on, shaping glossy black hooves under the pure black coat. The creature's neck was long and thin, reminding the trapped pegasus of an extra long pencil. Silver resisted the urge to squirm under the invisible force holding her down. She wasn't going to show any more fear if she could avoid it, though hiding it was growing more difficult. The cloud's head finally formed and where its eyes would be were two glowing spheres, golden as the sun but cold as the night. Its mane and tail retained their smoky appearance, flowing gently as the newly formed stallion slowly took a step towards Silver.

"I do not believe we will require this," he spoke, his voice now quieter. The panic Silver felt and the weight on her back suddenly vanished. She slowly stood up, looking around for the old mare. "She was not supposed to arrive," the stallion spoke again, its golden orbs pointed towards Silver, "she was a construct of your mind."

"Just as you are," Silver stated, looking at the smoke pony who was now over twice her height. Without the panic or fear weighing in her mind, she could think far clearer. Logic would win her this one, not emotion.

The large, black pony tilted its head to one side then the other, small cracks in its neck echoing throughout the sphere they stood in. "Indeed, but my question still stands: Who are you?"

"And I respond again: I don't understand," Silver replied. She spoke plainly, knowing this pony wouldn't hold any tactless answer against her. How could he? He was part of her mind; a temporary construct.

"Well, then I guess we are finished here." The smoke pony looked Silver over, his glowing golden eyes never seeming to move.

Silver just stood there, now utterly confused. "Wait," she began, "after all that--"

"Sil! SIL!" Eight's voice squeaked as she screamed.

Silver's eyes shot open, her body tensing up, ready for a fight. She looked around the small, sunlit room on the sleeping car. Her body felt cold, shivering despite the naturally warmed air around her. Silver's breathing was short and fast, like she had just run two marathons in a row. Her heart raced as if she'd done three.

"Sil! Are you alright?!" Eight asked as she took Silver's head in her hooves, looking into the pegasus's frightened eyes, her own amber orbs filled with concern. Silver closed her eyes, trying to force her body to relax. It felt like she just had another nightmare from her fillyhood, but she couldn't remember. It was a blank. "Sil?" Silver opened her eyes again, looking at Eight Beat, who looked on the verge of tears.

Silver nodded, putting her hoof on top of Eight's. "Yeah, I'll be fine," Silver replied, giving a reassuring smile to the filly.

Eight wasn't convinced. She wrapped her hooves around her guardian's neck. "You had me scared," she whispered into Silver's coat as the pegasus wrapped her forelegs around the green filly.

"It's alright," Silver whispered back, softly stroking Eight's mane. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

What are you, exactly? Who are you? The words echoed in Silver's mind as she held the green foal. The pegasus had no real answer, but she knew one thing: she was going to find out.

Sterling watched closely as Silver extended her hoof towards the tinsel, her grin of confidence plastered on her face. The pegasus had figured out how Sterling had hid her present this year a lot faster than the unicorn had planned. She just hoped the real present for Hearth's Warming was going to get here quickly. Sterling wanted to see the look on her little sister's face, which currently held her foalish grin.

Silver slowly inched her hoof closer to the sparkling tinsel, the magic sparks bouncing off her coat as if it were rubber. Every aspect of Silver, from the hairs in her mane to the tips of her feathers, was effectively immune to any sort of magic Sterling could think of. She'd created an enchantment that was, in theory, self-sustaining. She just hoped her full theory on her sister as well as her enchantment were accurate as this would become an amazing way to hide Silver's present, among other items.

The silver pegasus's hoof touched the tinsel and in a flash the enchantment on it broke, sending sparks flying everywhere. Sterling instinctively raised a hoof to her head, shielding her eyes from the magical sparkles that were now raining down on her. Silver in contrast just stood there, letting the sparks bounce off her coat and wings as she looked at the object now hanging off her hoof. Sterling hadn't thought her sister's grin could grow any more, but that was disproved when she walked up behind the pegasus. The elation was contagious it seemed as Sterling felt her own smile form.

The first gift Sterling had gotten for Silver was a simple one: a filly-sized bowler hat, jet black and with a shade lighter band around it. In a single move, Silver flicked it off her hoof and let it float down onto her head, her ears poking out from under the rim. It suited her, in an odd-to-contrast-with sort of way, but what got Sterling was the joy in Quick's pure silver eyes.

"You like it?" Sterling asked, already knowing the answer.

Silver beamed as she took the hat off again, rolling it along her foreleg like a pint-sized show-off. "Absolutely! Just like the gan-- Um..." Silver's grin vanished and she started looking around nervously, holding the hat between her hooves. "...Stereotypical bad guys from the filly-appropriate movies I watch all the time," she said slowly, still looking around.

"Dad's not home, kiddo," Sterling said plainly as she rolled her eyes. For being a pony completely enthralled with the art of warfare, their father Silver Bullion had this complete hatred of Silver watching gangster movies at the cinema or in the home theater. Sterling didn't mind too much if Silver watched movies like that, though. She knew the pegasus wasn't about to do something crazy or stupid, though the unicorn knew many ponies that would.

"Oh," Silver said before regaining her grin, sliding her present onto her head again. "It's just like the gangsters! Thank you so much!" Silver jumped at Sterling and wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn's neck, holding on tightly but still letting her breathe.

Sterling returned the hug, letting the embrace hide her grin as she thought Don't thank me just yet, sis. I still have one more trick up my slee-- Choking, not breathing!

For the second time Sterling found herself strangled by the excited filly around her neck for just a moment before she let go and zipped off, this time to the window to the right of the front door. A single pegasus colt hovered in front of the window, smiling and waving from outside. His orange coat had a small dusting of snow and his golden mane and tail were even less groomed than normal.

Sterling watched as Silver unlocked the front door, putting up a barrier to keep the snow out as she opened it and tackled the colt outside into the several feet of snow, squealing the entire time. Clipper had gotten to the mansion ahead of schedule, which Sterling was thankful for. A few moments passed as Sterling sat in the center of the entranceway, keeping the heavy snow out with ease, before the two pegasi floated out of the hole they had made and flew inside. Sterling closed the front door behind them as they flew in and proceeded up the stairs, Clipper talking avidly about Sterling's inviting him for Hearth's Warming. Silver waved a thank you at Sterling, her eyes conveying her happiness, before floating off with Clipper along the second floor hallway.

Sterling mused over which pony would eventually make the first move when they were older. Silver may have been the younger, but she was the more forward of the two, if that was considered possible. Even at this age, she was close with her friend. She may not have understood the meanings of her actions on a level that Sterling could, but Silver wouldn't care either way. She was happy with her best friend, pegasus or not.

Clipper, on the other hoof, was a year older than Silver. That wasn't saying much, though. Clipper wouldn't be the forward one, but he would be the one to put their feelings into words they both understood. The orange pegasus was a good colt, and had a kind heart. And the fact he thought Silver's unique eyes were neat was just the cherry on top. Sterling couldn't have asked for a better best friend for her sister.

Clipper's parents, on the other hoof, had this entirely messed up idea that their son was trying to get in good graces with the Silver family, which wasn't even close to the truth. If he wanted to do that, he wouldn't be friends with Silver. At least they weren't around for the holidays, and while that may have seemed like a bad thing at first it had actually given Sterling a way to bring Clipper to the family party, maybe lessen the insults and blows to Silver from her relatives. Quick Silver wasn't exactly a welcome addition to family gatherings, but she was important to Sterling and that was all that mattered to both of them.

Sterling smiled as she stood on the marble floor, tapping her hooves to the ticking of a clock somewhere else in the house. It was peaceful and quiet today, at least for a bit longer. The unicorn had every intention of enjoying the peace while it lasted. Despite how much she loved Silver, Sterling had to take some time for herself to stay sane. This kind of day gave her a good reason to just enjoy peace and quiet. No mother badgering her, no father trying to teach her some ancient battle strategy. No, this was Sterling's time and she was going to enjoy it.

Sitting on her haunches, Sterling closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, feeling the magic start to flow like a warm wave over her body. She felt it rise and ebb, slowly forming itself into elaborate shapes and then breaking them to form others. Silver was immune to magic, a unique pony in her own right. Sterling was another unique pony in this world, capable of seeing the very essence of the world's magic. She could feel the emotions of the flow about her, ranging back thousands of years.

Even with her eyes closed, Sterling could see the dark blue waves rolling on the floor she sat on, swirling with her own electric blue magic that seeped from her hooves. It was an amazing sight, something that only the unicorn could naturally see as far as she knew. Other unicorns would probably give their magic for just a glimpse of this wondrous sight.

A new wave slowly began to form, emptying an area of the room of its natural blue flows. Sterling didn't have to turn around to see the golden disk behind her, the hard light forcing the soft waves of natural magic away. Somepony was coming, one she did not like in the least. Taking a deep sigh, Sterling let her magic flows come to a stop, cutting off her view of the magic world and opening her eyes to the physical. The unicorn always felt so relaxed after her 'meditation,' as her mother decided to call it.

A little known fact about teleporting as a unicorn was that it took longer according to distance for most ponies. They had to subconsciously probe an area to ensure they don't wind up inside a wall or another pony, though many of them just think it's charging up the spell to go to the place they want. None of them saw the discs that Sterling could.

Within a few seconds a golden pony-sized orb appeared in front of the door Sterling now faced before breaking apart to reveal the first Silver guest to arrive. His name was Silver Platter, which Sterling thought was a slightly ridiculous name but it was not her place to say anything.

Platter's mane was a glossy gold, combed to match the style of the young Prince Blueblood, ensuring that every detail was mimicked perfectly. He probably even got the Prince himself to ensure it was accurate. His coat shone a bright silver, almost glowing in the light of the morning sun. He was very early, and Sterling knew exactly why.

"Hello cousin," Platter said with a smile. It wasn't a smile one would give a cousin.

"Hello, Platter," Sterling replied, her monotone voice giving away her lack of care. "You're early."

"Yes, well, Aunty did say I could arrive whenever I wanted in the invitation," he said. "Besides, I thought you would be happy to see me. After all, we are family." Platter moved his face closer to Sterling's, his amber eyes crawling over the filly, a grin of what Sterling recognized as lust on his face.

The colt was half again the young filly's age and yet he had this ridiculous notion that she would reciprocate his misplaced and, quite frankly, disgusting feelings for her. Despite giving him very unsubtle hints, the colt continued to pursue Sterling like some lost foal pursuing a piece of candy. Sterling could not knock some sense into him without her mother retaliating for him and he wouldn't take anything less at face value. In short, there was nothing Sterling could do to keep this colt from pining over her.

"Yes, we are," Sterling said, narrowing her eyes at the pony in front of her. He was taller than she was, but Sterling wasn't about to back down. Perhaps she could push Platter's buttons, try and find the one that would snap him and give her a reason to get some kind of restraining order. Or give her a good chance at the self defense argument, that would work very well. He'd be thrown in jail and she would be down one less nuisance in the family. "Which means we can't be together, Platter. How would the world see the Silver family then? A group of incestuous ponies that lace the entirety of Equestria? It would not look good for any of us." Sterling slowly formed her own grin, mimicking her sister's when she knows she has someone by the ropes. Though, these weren't the ones Sterling was aiming for when she started. That sometimes happened to Sterling, but she just went with it. Ninety percent of the time the results were far more enjoyable.

"Well, I'm sure--"

"Sterling, is that Silver Platter I hear?" Silver Tongue's voice floated from around the corner to Sterling's right. She dropped her grin and her posture back into neutral as Platter's face suddenly looked like a foal with his hoof in the cookie jar.

"Yes, mother," Sterling replied loudly, not taking her eyes off the colt's. "Platter has arrived early to help with the preparations." Sterling allowed herself a small smile towards the colt in front of her, surprise on his face evident.

"Oh, excellent," Silver Tongue replied as she turned the corner into the entranceway. "I would appreciate some help setting the table, dear. It will be quite the party and I assuredly cannot do it by myself. If only more staff had volunteered to stay perhaps we would not have to resort to doing such menial labor."

Silver Platter nodded in silence, still surprised at Sterling volunteering him for actual work. He couldn't say no, however. He had to stay in his aunt's good graces if he wanted to keep hitting on her eldest daughter, and he couldn't say no to anything if he wanted her happy. So, with his tail hung low and a small glare at the filly unicorn behind him, Platter walked off after his aunt towards the dining room where the table would be set for a large, formal dinner. Sterling just sat and smiled at herself for a moment before allowing her conscience to get the better of her and went off to help.

A small humming in front of her slowly brought Sterling out of her restful sleep. Her head bobbed slightly to the familiar tune as she twitched her muscles. It felt early in the day, Sterling guessed about seven in the morning. The humming continued as she slowly opened her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof.

"Morning, boss!" A bright, cheery voice exclaimed as Sterling sat up in her bed, the sheets the same mess as the night before and the night before that.

In front of Sterling a pale green unicorn with a particularly bouncy disposition sat on her haunches, grinning at the silver mare. "Tweet? How did you--" Sterling's answer came before she could even finish the question. It came in the form of a snore originating from her fridge in the next room. "Of course. Ratchette. That mare can pick anything mechanical," Sterling explained to herself. It was early and she wasn't up to thinking too hard.

"You know, boss, you look really cute when you sleep," Tweet said through a grin as she stood on all fours.

"Tweet, you remember the first thing I said to you when we met?" Sterling said through a groan.

"'Ow, that's my tail, get off of it'?" Tweet replied, her grin equalizing into a warm smile.

Sterling groaned again. "After that."

"'Why did you dip my robot in oil? You've short-circuited the capacitors!'" Tweet was obviously enjoying playing with her boss.

"Wait, that was you?" Sterling pointed a hoof at Tweet, who nodded, still holding her smile. "Remind me to dip you in oil next time I get a chance."

"Ooh, sounds kinky."

Sterling glared at her grinning friend before continuing. "And what I was getting at, Tweet, is that I prefer a complementary relationship, so please spare me the one-sided experiences," Sterling stated as she slid off the bed onto her own hooves. She rotated her shoulders to release the tension of sleeping on her stomach, letting the muscles unwind and allowing herself freedom of movement once again. Tweet just nodded, her smile getting a tad larger.

"Alright, why are you here and why does it merit Ratchette breaking into my home and sleeping in my fridge?"

Tweet's smile faded. "There's been an incident," she said plainly as Sterling walked into the kitchen, the green unicorn following closely. Sterling wasn't entirely worried about anypony being hurt. If they had, Tweet would not be here. She was the kind of pony that would ensure anyone hurt would be immediately taken care of before bringing Sterling into this. Her normal priorities may have been odd, but she had the right ones first when it came to the safety of others. Tweet took a deep breath before continuing.

"We had a power surge."

Sterling stopped in her tracks, her mind processing the words almost instantly. "How is that possible?" she asked as Tweet walked up next to her. "We're not on the city's power grid and the condenser is grounded."

"It was the Lux, Sterling. It surged the building's entire grid, blew every breaker and fuse."

Sterling stared at Tweet, trying to process the statement. The Lux was the centerpiece of Sterling's new club, the one thing that would truly become her legacy. But how could it generate enough power to blow a system designed to stop power surges? Sure, the first line of fuses would have broken but the entire seven-layer system? How could a device like that even produce the power? It just didn't make sense.

"I'm guessing Ratchette has no idea how it happened, does she?" Sterling asked as she opened the fridge door. The yellow-orange unicorn with her light yellow mane was curled in a ball on the bottom shelf, catching up on some sleep she most likely lost the night before. The mare loved the cold, and couldn't sleep in any temperatures above forty degrees.

Tweet responded, choosing her words carefully. "No. From what Ratchette told me last night about the Lux it's not even supposed to generate power. The thing that she kept going on about the entire trip here was that the power jumped the burnt fuses and breakers, like it was trying to get out of the building."

Sterling closed the fridge, her light breakfast of waffles in her hoof. She offered some to Tweet who promptly turned it down. Sterling tossed some on a pan and into the oven for her anyway. Tweet just narrowed her eyes at Sterling before returning to the issue at hoof. Her foal-esque attitude was replaced with one far more serious, the side of Tweet almost nopony knew existed.

"What I don't get, Sterling, is what it's even supposed to do. I know you want it to be a big surprise and everything, but what exactly is this great project of yours? And why is it capable of blowing out a seven layer system that you and Ratchette built, by hoof I might add, so quickly?"

"Well, Tweet," Sterling said as she watched the red elements in the oven begin to glow, "if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." Sterling smiled despite herself. Even with the Lux malfunctioning like it was, nopony was hurt. That meant she could hold onto the secret just a bit longer. Besides, it was better to show ponies than to explain; words alone were not enough.

Author's Note

Well, this is out a couple months later than planned. I partially blame my wisdom teeth extraction.
I lay the rest of the blame on me editor DeathChain01 who had the bright idea of adding in Sterling's sections into this chapter. Send DeathChain01 your praise if you want/can!